Quantifying the carbon footprint of conference travel: the case of NMR meetings

Abstract. Conference travel contributes to the climate footprint of academic research. Here, we provide a quantitative estimate of the carbon emissions associated with conference attendance by analyzing travel data from participants of ten international conferences in the field of magnetic resonance, namely EUROMAR, ENC and ICMRBS. We find that attending a EUROMAR conference produces on average approximately 1 ton CO₂eq. For the analysed conferences outside Europe the corresponding value is about 2–3 times higher. We compare these conference-related emissions to other activities associated to research, and show that conference travel is a substantial portion of the total climate footprint of a researcher in magnetic resonance. We explore several strategies to reduce these emissions, including the impact of selecting conference venues more strategically and the possibility of decentralized conferences. Through a detailed comparison of train versus air travel — accounting for both direct and infrastructure-related emissions — we demonstrate that train travel offers considerable carbon savings. This data may provide a basis for strategic choices of future conferences in the field and for individuals deciding on their conference attendance.