tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/carbon-footprint-2833/articlesCarbon footprint – The Conversation2024-03-13T01:35:19Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2251832024-03-13T01:35:19Z2024-03-13T01:35:19ZAustralian music festivals are increasingly affected by climate change. But is the industry doing enough to mitigate its impact?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581150/original/file-20240312-24-cpokru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=20%2C0%2C3430%2C5178&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/man-performing-on-stage-OUm4v3mWzoc"> Maxwell Collins/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Pitch Music and Arts Festival in Moyston, Victoria, <a href="https://www.noise11.com/news/pitch-festival-punters-warned-to-leave-ahead-of-fire-danger-20240309">was cancelled</a> while festival-goers were already on site this weekend, after an extreme fire danger warning was issued.</p>
<p>Cancellations like these have become all too familiar.</p>
<p>The live music and festival industry is currently struggling with <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-so-many-australian-music-festivals-being-cancelled-223559">significant challenges</a>, including expensive insurance premiums and the cost of living crisis impacting ticket sales. </p>
<p>In particular are the challenges associated with climate change, as extreme weather events becoming more frequent, severe and unpredictable.</p>
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<p>I looked at news reports over 2022 and 2023 and found at least 22 music festivals in Australia cancelled or disrupted due to extreme weather conditions.</p>
<p>This trend of weather-related interruptions appears to be on the rise: over the seven years between 2013 and 2019, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1329878X231184913">only ten music festivals</a> in Australia were affected by extreme weather.</p>
<p>Severe weather impacts on music festivals and concerts have ranged from delays and cancellations, to the evacuation of venues and areas mid-festival or mid-performance. This will be a growing challenge for the industry.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-transforming-australias-cultural-life-so-why-isnt-it-mentioned-in-the-new-national-cultural-policy-198881">Climate change is transforming Australia’s cultural life – so why isn’t it mentioned in the new national cultural policy?</a>
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<h2>Death, injury and cancellations</h2>
<p>This is not limited to Australia, and not all extreme weather-related events result in a cancellation. In my research, I also looked at where and why events were being cancelled in the United States, finding at least 21 cancellations in 2022–23. </p>
<p>I also found similar cases in <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/elton-john-concert-cancelled-amid-rain-fans-evacuated-from-mt-smart/DB2LP7S2DJEALFDUNT4LHTJBYQ/">New Zealand</a>, <a href="https://www.dancemusicnw.com/wildfire-bc-state-of-emergency-2023/">Canada</a>, <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/tiree-music-festival-cancelled-and-fans-stranded-in-ferry-terminal-during-extreme-weather-12916774">the United Kingdom</a>, <a href="https://accessaa.co.uk/primavera-sound-pulls-out-of-madrid-for-2024/">Spain</a> and <a href="https://edmmaniac.com/awakenings-cancels-storm-2023/">the Netherlands</a>.</p>
<p>In November, we saw the tragic death of a fan due to extreme heat at Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour <a href="https://theconversation.com/taylor-swifts-brazil-concert-was-hammered-by-extreme-heat-how-to-protect-crowds-at-the-next-sweltering-gig-218341">in Brazil</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/taylor-swifts-brazil-concert-was-hammered-by-extreme-heat-how-to-protect-crowds-at-the-next-sweltering-gig-218341">Taylor Swift's Brazil concert was hammered by extreme heat. How to protect crowds at the next sweltering gig</a>
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<p>There were more than 100 hospitalisations following a hailstorm at a <a href="https://uk.movies.yahoo.com/movies/louis-tomlinson-devastated-hail-cancels-100600789.html">Louis Tomlinson concert</a> in Colorado last June. </p>
<p>At a Taylor Swift performance in Sydney, fans were <a href="https://x.com/10NewsFirstSyd/status/1760926131526726105?s=20">temporarily evacuated</a> and the show was delayed due to lightning strikes.</p>
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<p>In Australia, severe weather has recently led to the postponement of major events such as the abrupt ending to Sydney’s Good Things festival <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/sydney-music-festival-evacuated-as-wild-storm-sweeps-through-20231202-p5eok4.html">due to a storm</a> in December, and cancellation the of Strawberry Fields festival, scheduled for October 2022, due to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-27/strawberry-fields-music-festival-cancelled-flooding/101477202">flooding in southern NSW</a>.</p>
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<p>Extreme weather events are <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/chapter/chapter-11/">closely linked</a> to climate change. This trend is likely going to get worse. Australia has witnessed a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969720340432">marked increase</a> in the intensity, frequency and duration of heatwaves over the past 67 years, with a significant uptick observed in recent decades.</p>
<h2>The environmental impact of festivals</h2>
<p>There has not yet been a comprehensive <a href="https://noco2.com.au/noco2-business-certification/carbon-footprint-carbon-audit/">carbon footprint audit</a> of the Australian music industry, but we do know how much music can contribute to carbon emissions through research in the UK.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://theface.com/music/music-industry-climate-change-touring-cop26-vinyl-carbon-emissions-nfts-festivals-streaming-the-1975-massive-attack-billie-eilish-coldplay-olivia-rodrigo">UK’s live music industry</a> produces 405,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually.</p>
<p>The primary sources of these emissions are audience travel, accounting for 43%, and the operations of live music venues, contributing another 23%. This means nearly three-quarters of industry’s emissions <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/5/1/014019">are linked</a> to live music performances. </p>
<p>The average touring DJ is <a href="https://theface.com/music/music-industry-climate-change-touring-cop26-vinyl-carbon-emissions-nfts-festivals-streaming-the-1975-massive-attack-billie-eilish-coldplay-olivia-rodrigo">responsible</a> for 35 tonnes of CO₂ a year – more than 15 times the personal <a href="https://www.flightnook.com/should-you-be-thinking-about-your-personal-carbon-budget">carbon budget recommended for individuals</a> and nearly eight times the average.</p>
<p>In 2019 alone, <a href="https://cleanscene.club/report.pdf">1,000 touring DJs</a> took more than 51,000 flights around the world, generating as much CO₂ as over 20,000 households. </p>
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<h2>Music festivals can make a change</h2>
<p>There are signs of a <a href="https://onimpact.com.au/music-industry-increasingly-considers-its-carbon-footprint/">growing consciousness</a> within the live music industry towards mitigating environmental impacts. </p>
<p>The UK’s live music sector has committed to reaching <a href="https://theface.com/music/music-industry-climate-change-touring-cop26-vinyl-carbon-emissions-nfts-festivals-streaming-the-1975-massive-attack-billie-eilish-coldplay-olivia-rodrigo">net-zero emissions</a> by 2030. </p>
<p>In Australia <a href="https://woodfordfolkfestival.com/about/environmental-statement/">Woodford Folk Festival</a> and <a href="https://www.womadelaide.com.au/news/2022/6/womadelaide-2022-sustainability-report">WOMADelaide</a> have banned single-use plastics and promote recycling to minimise waste.</p>
<p>The live music industry can reduce its environmental impact by adopting more renewable energy, and using sustainable transport options for artists <a href="https://www.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/news/caloundra-music-festival-transport-and-sustainability-options-unpacked">and audiences</a>. </p>
<p>Engaging audiences in sustainability efforts, such as <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10824-015-9265-2">incentivising carbon offset</a> contributions, can also amplify impact.</p>
<p>Other environmental concerns at festivals are less obvious but also important. Attendees often enjoy wearing glitter, not realising it is made of <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/25/world/plastic-waste-emissions-music-festivals-intl/index.html">microplastics</a>. Switching to biodegradable glitter is a practical solution.</p>
<p>Festivals also see waste from abandoned <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-environmental-cost-of-abandoning-your-tent-at-a-music-festival-120198">low-quality camping gear</a>. These one-time-use tents and accessories contribute to environmental degradation and create waste management challenges. There needs to be more efforts in educating attendees on the importance of sustainable camping practices and encouraging the use of high-quality, reusable camping gear.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-environmental-cost-of-abandoning-your-tent-at-a-music-festival-120198">The environmental cost of abandoning your tent at a music festival</a>
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<p>Tree planting has emerged as a popular strategy for <a href="https://woodfordia.org/festivals/the-planting/">music festivals</a> and <a href="https://onetreeplanted.org/pages/coldplay">bands</a> to offset their carbon footprint and <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315558189-12/greening-music-festival-scene-exploration-sustainable-practices-influence-youth-culture-joanne-cummings">contribute positively to the environment</a>. </p>
<p>Incorporating carbon offsets into ticket pricing or offering them as voluntary options presents strategy for festivals and artists to <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/AAM-10-2020-0046/full/html?casa_token=ty5KSvbHzEsAAAAA:AIUo7RQl5evieVT15IGullYqdybtx5aZPEujl1wCWpoGzZ8Uvi_D1WQ-yWXO_7oF5gnRGqJs2PJpsEE12ybR2CT-6kHc3sEwh2xjykJ7prbjEXqT46vq">mitigate their environmental impact</a>.</p>
<p>Challenges such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-so-many-australian-music-festivals-being-cancelled-223559">rising supply chain costs and the cost of living</a> are testing the viability of festivals. Amid these challenges, severe weather can introduce additional uncertainties. </p>
<p>It is important the event industry and festival-goers acknowledge their contributions to these escalating challenges, and take proactive steps towards greening music festivals.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225183/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Milad Haghani receives funding from the Australian Research Council (Grant No. DE210100440). </span></em></p>Cancellations of Australian music festivals, such as the abrupt end to Pitch Music Festival due to extreme heat, have become all too familiar.Milad Haghani, Senior Lecturer of Urban Mobility, Public Safety & Disaster Risk, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2234882024-02-16T16:07:23Z2024-02-16T16:07:23ZAI has a large and growing carbon footprint, but there are potential solutions on the horizon<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575971/original/file-20240215-26-d8wa2k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3834%2C2160&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/futuristic-concept-data-center-chief-technology-2200880615">Gorodenkoff / Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Given the huge problem-solving potential of artificial intelligence (AI), it wouldn’t be far-fetched to think that AI could also help us in <a href="https://theconversation.com/four-ways-ai-could-help-us-respond-to-climate-change-despite-how-much-energy-it-uses-208135">tackling the climate crisis</a>. However, when we consider the energy needs of AI models, it becomes clear that the technology is as much a part of the climate problem as a solution.</p>
<p>The emissions come from the infrastructure associated with AI, such as building and running the data centres that handle the large amounts of information required to sustain these systems.</p>
<p>But different technological approaches to how we build AI systems could help reduce its carbon footprint. Two technologies in particular hold promise for doing this: <a href="https://research.ibm.com/publications/spiking-neural-networks-enable-two-dimensional-neurons-and-unsupervised-multi-timescale-learning">spiking neural networks</a> and lifelong learning.</p>
<p>The lifetime of an AI system can be split into two phases: training and inference. During training, a relevant dataset is used to build and tune – improve – the system. In inference, the trained system generates predictions on previously unseen data.</p>
<p>For example, training an AI that’s to be used in self-driving cars would require a dataset of many different driving scenarios and decisions taken by human drivers.</p>
<p>After the training phase, the AI system will predict effective manoeuvres for a self-driving car. <a href="https://www.ibm.com/topics/neural-networks">Artificial neural networks (ANN)</a>, are an underlying technology used in most current AI systems. </p>
<p>They have many different elements to them, called parameters, whose values are adjusted during the training phase of the AI system. These parameters can run to more than 100 billion in total.</p>
<p>While large numbers of parameters improve the capabilities of ANNs, they also make training and inference resource-intensive processes. To put things in perspective, training GPT-3 (the precursor AI system to the current ChatGPT) generated 502 metric tonnes of carbon, which is equivalent to driving 112 petrol powered cars for a year. </p>
<p>GPT-3 further emits <a href="https://semiengineering.com/ai-power-consumption-exploding/">8.4 tonnes of CO₂ annually</a> due to inference. Since the AI boom started in the early 2010s, the energy requirements of AI systems known as large language models (LLMs) – the type of technology that’s behind ChatGPT – have gone up <a href="https://openai.com/research/ai-and-compute">by a factor of 300,000</a>. </p>
<p>With the increasing ubiquity and complexity of AI models, this trend is going to continue, potentially making AI a significant contributor of CO₂ emissions. In fact, our current estimates <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/12/05/1084417/ais-carbon-footprint-is-bigger-than-you-think/">could be lower than AI’s actual carbon footprint</a> due to a lack of standard and accurate techniques for measuring AI-related emissions.</p>
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<img alt="Chimneys at a power station." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576022/original/file-20240215-16-uqga7a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576022/original/file-20240215-16-uqga7a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576022/original/file-20240215-16-uqga7a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576022/original/file-20240215-16-uqga7a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576022/original/file-20240215-16-uqga7a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576022/original/file-20240215-16-uqga7a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576022/original/file-20240215-16-uqga7a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/aerial-view-high-smoke-stack-emission-1871428867">Leonid Sorokin / Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>Spiking neural networks</h2>
<p>The previously mentioned new technologies, spiking neural networks (SNNs) and lifelong learning (L2), have the potential to lower AI’s ever-increasing carbon footprint, with SNNs acting as an energy-efficient alternative to ANNs. </p>
<p>ANNs work by processing and learning patterns from data, enabling them to make predictions. They work with decimal numbers. To make accurate calculations, especially when multiplying numbers with decimal points together, the computer needs to be very precise. It is because of these decimal numbers that ANNs require lots of computing power, memory and time. </p>
<p>This means ANNs become more energy-intensive as the networks get larger and more complex. Both ANNs and SNNs are inspired by the brain, which contains billions of neurons (nerve cells) connected to each other via synapses. </p>
<p>Like the brain, ANNs and SNNs also have components which researchers call neurons, although these are artificial, not biological ones. The key difference between the two types of neural networks is in the way individual neurons transmit information to each other. </p>
<p>Neurons in the human brain communicate with each other by transmitting intermittent electrical signals called spikes. The spikes themselves do not contain information. Instead, the information lies in the timing of these spikes. This binary, all-or-none characteristic of spikes (usually represented as 0 or 1) implies that neurons are active when they spike and inactive otherwise. </p>
<p>This is one of the reasons for <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnins.2019.00666/full">energy efficient processing in the brain</a>.</p>
<p>Just as Morse code uses specific sequences of dots and dashes to convey messages, SNNs use patterns or timings of spikes to process and transmit information. So, while the artificial neurons in ANNs are always active, SNNs consume energy only when a spike occurs. </p>
<p>Otherwise, they have closer to zero energy requirements. SNNs <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1903.06530">can be up to 280 times</a> more energy efficient than ANNs.</p>
<p>My colleagues and I are <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.03.535317v1.abstract">developing learning algorithms for SNNs</a> that may bring them even closer to the energy efficiency exhibited by the brain. The lower computational requirements also imply that SNNs <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/10191334">might be able to make decisions more quickly</a>. </p>
<p>These properties render SNNs useful for broad range of applications, including space exploration, <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2305.16748">defence</a> and self-driving cars because of the limited energy sources available in these scenarios.</p>
<h1>Lifelong learning</h1>
<p>L2 is another strategy for reducing the overall energy requirements of ANNs over the course of their lifetime that we are also working on. </p>
<p>Training ANNs sequentially (where the systems learn from sequences of data) on new problems causes them to forget <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0079742108605368?via%3Dihub">their previous knowledge</a> while learning new tasks. ANNs require retraining from scratch when their operating environment changes, further increasing AI-related emissions. </p>
<p>L2 is a collection of algorithms that enable AI models to be trained sequentially on multiple tasks with little or no forgetting. L2 enables models to <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2305.16748">learn throughout their lifetime</a> by building on their existing knowledge without having to retrain them from scratch.</p>
<p>The field of AI is growing fast and other potential advancements are emerging that can mitigate the energy demands of this technology. For instance, building smaller AI models that exhibit the same predictive capabilities as that of a larger model. </p>
<p>Advances in quantum computing – a different approach to building computers that harnesses phenomena from the world of quantum physics – would also enable faster training and inference using ANNs and SNNs. The superior computing capabilities offered by quantum computing could allow us to find energy-efficient solutions for AI at a much larger scale.</p>
<p>The climate change challenge requires that we try to find solutions for rapidly advancing areas such as AI before their carbon footprint becomes too large.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223488/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shirin Dora does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Technological approaches could help reduce the carbon impact of artificial intelligence systems.Shirin Dora, Lecturer, Computer Science, Loughborough UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1766622024-02-15T13:53:50Z2024-02-15T13:53:50ZChildren are expensive – not just for parents, but the environment – so how many is too many?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573356/original/file-20240205-19-6s8ovc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C6%2C2120%2C1390&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Protecting the planet for future children might mean having fewer children.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/people-with-placards-and-posters-on-global-strike-royalty-free-image/1181043800?phrase=climate+protest+kid&adppopup=true">Halfpoint/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>People born in the future stand to inherit a planet in the midst of a global ecological crisis. <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/11/201106093027.htm">Natural habitats are being decimated</a>, the world <a href="https://theconversation.com/arctic-report-card-2023-from-wildfires-to-melting-sea-ice-the-warmest-summer-on-record-had-cascading-impacts-across-the-arctic-218872">is growing hotter</a>, and scientists fear we are experiencing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09678">the sixth mass extinction event in Earth’s history</a>. </p>
<p>Under such circumstances, is it reasonable to bring a child into the world?</p>
<p><a href="https://philosophy.arizona.edu/person/trevor-hedberg">My philosophical research</a> deals with environmental and procreative ethics – the ethics of choosing how many children to have or whether to have them at all. Recently, my work has explored <a href="https://www.routledge.com/The-Environmental-Impact-of-Overpopulation-The-Ethics-of-Procreation/Hedberg/p/book/9781032236766">questions where these two fields intersect</a>, such as how climate change should affect <a href="https://www.pdcnet.org/eip/content/eip_2019_0020_0001_0042_0065">decision-making about having a family</a>.</p>
<p>Procreation is often viewed as a personal or private choice that should not be scrutinized. However, it is a choice that affects others: the parents, the children themselves and the people who will inhabit the world alongside those children in the future. Thus, it is an appropriate topic for moral reflection.</p>
<h2>A lifelong footprint</h2>
<p>Let’s start by thinking about why it might be wrong to have a large family.</p>
<p>Many people who care about the environment believe they are obligated to try to reduce their impact: driving fuel-efficient vehicles, recycling and purchasing food locally, for example.</p>
<p>But the decision to have a child – to create another person who will most likely adopt a similar lifestyle to your own – vastly outweighs the impact of these activities. Based on the average distance a car travels each year, people in developed countries can save the equivalent of 2.4 metric tons of CO2 emissions each year by living without a vehicle, according to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa7541">one literature review</a>. For comparison, having one fewer child saves 58.6 metric tons each year.</p>
<p>So, if you think you are obligated to do other activities to reduce your impact on the environment, you should limit your family size, too.</p>
<p>In response, however, some people may argue that adding a single person to a planet of 8 billion <a href="https://doi.org/10.5840/enviroethics201133326">cannot make a meaningful difference</a>. According to this argument, one new person would constitute such a tiny percentage of the overall contribution to climate change and other environmental problems that the impact would be morally negligible.</p>
<h2>Crunching the numbers</h2>
<p>Environmental ethicists debate how to quantify an individual’s impact on the environment, especially their lifetime carbon emissions.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://stat.oregonstate.edu/directory/paul-murtaugh">statistician Paul Murtaugh</a> and scientist <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Michael-G-Schlax-5771424">Michael Schlax</a> attempted to <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/population_and_sustainability/pdfs/OSUCarbonStudy.pdf">estimate the “carbon legacy</a>” tied to a couple’s choice to procreate. They estimated the total lifetime emissions of individuals living in the world’s most populous 11 countries. They also assumed a parent was responsible for all emissions tied to their genetic lineage: all of their own emissions, half their children’s emissions, one-quarter of their grandchildren’s emissions, and so on. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575665/original/file-20240214-18-llni5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A camera in the back of a minivan captures two adults riding in the front seat and two brunette children sitting in the back row." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575665/original/file-20240214-18-llni5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575665/original/file-20240214-18-llni5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575665/original/file-20240214-18-llni5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575665/original/file-20240214-18-llni5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575665/original/file-20240214-18-llni5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575665/original/file-20240214-18-llni5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575665/original/file-20240214-18-llni5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Calculating how many emissions an average person is responsible for is tricky – but for the average American lifestyle, it’s high.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/family-riding-together-in-car-royalty-free-image/103058683?phrase=minivan+kids&adppopup=true">PhotoAlto/Ale Ventura/PhotoAlto Agency RF Collections via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If emissions stayed similar to 2005 levels for several generations, an American couple having one fewer child <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/population_and_sustainability/pdfs/OSUCarbonStudy.pdf">would save 9,441 metric tons of CO2-equivalent</a>, according to their calculations. Driving a more fuel-efficient car, on the other hand – getting 10 more miles to the gallon – would save only 148 metric tons of CO2-equivalent.</p>
<p>Philosopher <a href="https://web.utk.edu/%7Enolt/">John Nolt</a> has attempted to estimate <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/21550085.2011.561584">how much harm</a> the average American causes over their lifetime in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. He found that the average American contributes roughly one two-billionth of the total greenhouse gases that cause climate change. But since climate change may harm billions of people over the next millennium, this person may be responsible for the severe suffering, or even death, of one or two future people.</p>
<h2>Collective toll</h2>
<p>Such estimates are, at best, imprecise. Nevertheless, even if one assumes that each individual child’s impact on the environment is relatively insignificant on the global scale, that does not necessarily mean that procreators are off the moral hook.</p>
<p>One common thought in ethics is that people should avoid participating in enterprises that involve collective wrongdoing. In other words, we should avoid contributing to institutions and practices that cause bad outcomes, even if our own individual contribution to that outcome is tiny. </p>
<p>Suppose someone considers making a small donation to an organization that they learn is engaged in immoral activities, such as polluting a local river. Even if the potential donation is only a few dollars – too small to make any difference to the organization’s operations – that money would express a degree of complicity in that behavior, or perhaps even an endorsement. The morally right thing to do is avoid supporting the organization when possible.</p>
<p>We could reason the same way about procreation: Overpopulation is a collective problem that is <a href="http://www.mlcfoundation.org.in/#assets/ijpd/2023-1/V_3_1_7.pdf">degrading the environment and causing harm</a>, so individuals should <a href="https://www.routledge.com/The-Environmental-Impact-of-Overpopulation-The-Ethics-of-Procreation/Hedberg/p/book/9781032236766">reduce their contribution to it</a> when they can.</p>
<h2>Moral gray zone</h2>
<p>But perhaps having children warrants an exception. Parenthood is often a crucial part of people’s life plans and makes their lives far more meaningful, even if it does come at a cost to the planet. Some people believe <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691036656/children-of-choice">reproductive freedom is so important</a> that no one should feel moral pressure to restrict the size of their family.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575662/original/file-20240214-28-63i1r3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Three women, one of whom has white hair, stand smiling around a baby in a blue outfit and a pacifier." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575662/original/file-20240214-28-63i1r3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575662/original/file-20240214-28-63i1r3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575662/original/file-20240214-28-63i1r3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575662/original/file-20240214-28-63i1r3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575662/original/file-20240214-28-63i1r3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575662/original/file-20240214-28-63i1r3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575662/original/file-20240214-28-63i1r3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Having children feels like an essential part of many people’s life plans.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/grandmother-looking-at-her-newborn-grandson-in-the-royalty-free-image/1444230309?phrase=newborn&adppopup=true">Abraham Gonzalez Fernandez/Moment via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One point of general consensus among ethicists, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9930.1993.tb00093.x">following the lead</a> of <a href="https://www.merton.ox.ac.uk/people/professor-henry-shue">philosopher Henry Shue</a>, is that there is a moral difference between emissions tied to crucial interests and those that are tied to convenience and luxury. Emissions connected to basic human needs are usually regarded as permissible. It isn’t wrong for me to emit carbon to drive to the grocery store, for example, if I have no other safe or reliable transportation available. Getting to the store is important to my survival and well-being. Driving purely for recreation, in contrast, is harder to justify.</p>
<p>Reproduction occupies the messy conceptual space between these two activities. For most people today, having their own biological children is not essential to health or survival. Yet it is also far more important to most people and their broader life plans than a frivolous joyride. Is there a way to balance the varied and competing moral considerations in play here?</p>
<p><a href="https://www.pdcnet.org/eip/content/eip_2019_0020_0001_0042_0065">In prior work</a>, I have argued the proper way to balance these competing moral considerations is for each couple to have no more than two biological children. I believe this allows a couple an appropriate amount of reproductive freedom while also recognizing the moral significance of the environmental problems linked to population growth. </p>
<p>Some authors reason about this issue differently, though. Philosopher <a href="https://www.bowdoin.edu/profiles/faculty/sconly/">Sarah Conly</a> argues that it is permissible for couples <a href="https://academic.oup.com/book/7760">to have only one biological child</a>. In large part, her position rests on her argument that all the fundamental interests tied to child-rearing can be satisfied with just one child. Bioethicist <a href="https://bioethics.jhu.edu/people/profile/travis-rieder/">Travis Reider</a> <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-33871-2">argues in favor of having a small family</a>, but without a specific numerical limit. It is also possible, as ethicist <a href="https://www.umu.se/en/staff/kalle-grill/">Kalle Grill</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.5840/enviroethics20238860">has argued</a>, that none of these positions gets the moral calculus exactly right.</p>
<p>Regardless, it is clear that prospective parents should reflect on the moral dimensions of procreation and its importance to their life plans.</p>
<p>For some, adoption may be the best way of experiencing parenthood without creating a new person. And there are many other ways for prospective parents to do their part in mitigating environmental problems. Carbon offsets or donations to environmental organizations, for example, are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/21550085.2023.2223805">hardly perfect substitutes</a> for limiting procreation – but they certainly may be more appealing to many prospective parents.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/176662/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Trevor Hedberg does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>You can donate to environmental charities and even purchase carbon offsets, but not having an additional child typically has a much greater impact.Trevor Hedberg, Assistant Professor of Practice, W.A. Franke Honors College / Philosophy Department, University of ArizonaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2155752023-12-12T18:09:39Z2023-12-12T18:09:39ZHow to assess the carbon footprint of a war<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565190/original/file-20231212-27-xcx3jj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C4%2C3095%2C1740&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/dubaiuae-nov-23-2023-shot-f16-2399267237">Tifa.Shoair / shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>We know that <a href="https://theconversation.com/warfare-ruins-the-environment-and-not-just-on-the-front-lines-218853">war is bad for the environment</a>, with toxic chemicals left polluting the soil and water for decades after fighting ceases. Much less obvious are the <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262047487/the-pentagon-climate-change-and-war/">carbon emissions from armed conflicts</a> and their long-term impacts on the climate.</p>
<p>Colleagues and I have estimated that the US military alone contributes more greenhouse gas emissions than <a href="https://theconversation.com/us-military-is-a-bigger-polluter-than-as-many-as-140-countries-shrinking-this-war-machine-is-a-must-119269">over 150 countries</a>, but too often discussions of the links between militaries and climate change focus only on future risks to global security in climate-affected settings. There are many tepid attempts by militaries to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-023-01763-9">green their war machines</a> – developing <a href="https://www.defensenews.com/industry/techwatch/2022/10/11/heres-what-industry-is-offering-to-meet-armys-electric-vehicle-needs/">electric tanks</a> or navy ships run on <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0962629816302001">biofuels</a> – yet there is very little discussion of how they contribute to climate change, especially during war.</p>
<p>Militaries are not very transparent and it is extremely difficult to access the data needed to run comprehensive carbon emissions calculations, even in peacetime. Researchers are essentially left on their own. Using an array of methods, colleagues and I have been working to <a href="https://militaryemissions.org/">open this “black box” of wartime emissions</a> and demand transparent reporting of military emissions to the UN’s climate body, the UNFCCC. </p>
<p>Here are some of the ways militaries create emissions, and how we go about estimating them.</p>
<h2>Direct and indirect emissions</h2>
<p>Some military emissions are not necessarily specific to wartime, but dramatically increase during combat. Among the largest sources are jet fuel for planes and diesel for tanks and naval ships. </p>
<p>Other sources include weapons and ammunition manufacturing, troop deployment, housing, and feeding armies. Then there is the havoc that militaries cause by dropping bombs, including fires, smoke and rubble from damage to homes and infrastructure – all amounting to a massive “carbon war bootprint”. </p>
<p>In order to account for all of this carbon, researchers must begin with basic data surrounding direct “tailpipe” emissions, known as Scope 1 emissions. This is the carbon emitted directly from burning fuel in the engine of a plane, for instance. If we know how much fuel is consumed per kilometre by a certain type of jet plane, we can begin to estimate how much carbon is emitted by a whole fleet of those planes over a certain amount of missions. </p>
<p>Then we have emissions from heating or electricity that are an indirect result of a particular activity – emissions from burning gas to produce electricity to light up an army barracks, for instance. These are Scope 2 emissions.</p>
<p>From there, we can try to account for the complex “long tail” of indirect or embodied emissions, known as Scope 3. These are found in <a href="https://ceobs.org/report-a-framework-for-military-greenhouse-gas-emissions-reporting/">extensive military supply chains</a> and involve carbon emitted by anything from weapons manufacturing to IT and other logistics. </p>
<p>To understand combat emissions better, my colleagues have even proposed a new category, <a href="https://ceobs.org/report-a-framework-for-military-greenhouse-gas-emissions-reporting/">Scope 3 Plus</a>, which includes everything from damage caused by war to post-conflict reconstruction. For example, the emissions involved in rebuilding Gaza or Mariupol in Ukraine will be enormous. </p>
<h2>Concrete problems</h2>
<p>Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/anti.13006">most recent research</a>, looking at the US military’s use of concrete in Iraq from 2003 to 2011, illustrates some of the calculations involved. During its occupation of Baghdad, the US military laid hundreds of miles of walls as part of its urban counterinsurgency strategy. These were used to protect against the damage caused by bombs planted by insurgents, and to manage civilian and insurgent movements within the city by channelling residents through authorised roads and checkpoints. </p>
<p>However, concrete also has a massive carbon footprint, accounting for almost <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00758-4#ref-CR1">7% of global CO₂ emissions</a>. And the concrete walls in Baghdad alone – 412km (256 miles) – were longer than the distance from London to Paris. Those walls caused the emission of an estimated 200,000 tonnes of CO₂ and its equivalent in other gases (CO₂e), which is roughly equivalent to the total annual car tailpipe emissions of the UK, or the entire emissions of a small island nation. </p>
<h2>Ukraine war has the carbon footprint of Belgium</h2>
<p>In Ukraine, colleagues have begun the colossal task of adding up all the above factors and more in order to calculate the carbon effects of Russia’s invasion. This work is revolutionary as it attempts to do the very difficult task of accounting for the emissions of war in almost real time. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565195/original/file-20231212-23-zhxfvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Missile in roadside" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565195/original/file-20231212-23-zhxfvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565195/original/file-20231212-23-zhxfvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565195/original/file-20231212-23-zhxfvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565195/original/file-20231212-23-zhxfvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565195/original/file-20231212-23-zhxfvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565195/original/file-20231212-23-zhxfvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565195/original/file-20231212-23-zhxfvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An unexploded missile in Ukraine, April 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/hostomil-reg-ukraine-apr-22-2022-2148598259">Drop of Light / shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These researchers estimate the carbon footprint of the first year of the war to be in the region of <a href="https://climatefocus.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/clim-damage-by-russia-war-12months.pdf">120 million tonnes of CO₂e</a>. That’s roughly the annual emissions of Belgium. Ammunition and explosives alone for around 2 million tonnes of CO₂e in that period – equal to almost 1 billion beef steaks (150g), or 13 billion kilometres of driving.</p>
<p>A focus on conflict emissions is particularly timely given the Ukraine and Israel-Gaza wars, but also because of draft legislation concerning the 27 legal principles on the <a href="https://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/draft_articles/8_7_2022.pdf">protection of the environment in relation to armed conflicts</a> (Perac) that was passed by the UN general assembly in December 2022. While Perac is a major step forward, it still has little to say about greenhouse gas emissions during conflict.</p>
<p>Governments should adhere to their obligations to transparent and accurate reporting of military emissions. People are beginning to link armed conflict, greenhouse gas emissions and environmental protection, but the topic remains under-reported and unresearched – it’s time to shine a spotlight on this hidden aspect of war.</p>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
<br><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeTop">Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead.</a> Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeBottom">Join the 20,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.</a></em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215575/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Benjamin Neimark receives funding from UK Research and Innovation, Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) - Concrete Impacts Project. </span></em></p>Researchers must track everything from bomb making or jet fuel burning to the carbon cost of post-conflict rebuilding.Benjamin Neimark, Senior Lecturer, School of Business Management, Queen Mary University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2182812023-11-24T17:18:21Z2023-11-24T17:18:21ZClimate crisis: what to consider if you’re questioning whether to have children<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561533/original/file-20231124-21-m6quk8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5437%2C3825&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/content-young-woman-taken-idea-having-1020513205">pathdoc/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The warnings about the disastrous impact we are having on our planet are becoming more dire. The UN Environment Programme’s most recent <a href="https://www.unep.org/resources/emissions-gap-report-2023">emissions gap report</a>, which tracks our progress in limiting global warming, revealed that the world is on course for a “hellish” 3°C of global heating before the end of this century.</p>
<p>How can you plan for a family when the outlook is so bleak? A recent <a href="https://journals.plos.org/climate/article?id=10.1371/journal.pclm.0000236">study</a>, conducted by Hope Dillarstone, Laura Brown and Elaine Flores from University College London, has reviewed existing evidence to shed light on how the climate crisis is shaping decisions about whether to have children or not. </p>
<p>Analysing research published between 2012 and 2022, the researchers found that people who were concerned about the climate crisis typically wanted to have few children or no children at all. Concerns about overpopulation and overconsumption, uncertainty about the future, and worries about meeting their family’s needs were among the factors driving people’s desire for smaller families.</p>
<hr>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/should-i-have-children-148388?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=InArticleTop&utm_campaign=Parenting2023">Should I have children?</a> The pieces in this series will help you answer this tough question – exploring fertility, climate change, the cost of living and social pressure.</em></p>
<p><em>We’ll keep the discussion going at a live event in London on November 30. <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/events/the-conversation-should-i-have-children/london-tottenham-court-road">Click here</a> for more information and tickets.</em></p>
<hr>
<h2>Overpopulation and overconsumption</h2>
<p>Do you feel guilty about your potential child’s carbon footprint? Perhaps you’re frustrated by the materialistic values of modern society and the inevitability of overconsumption? These issues also came up in several of the reviewed studies.</p>
<p>There is a long, problematic, and very political history behind the idea of overpopulation. In various forms, the idea has been floating around since at least the late 18th century. It has led to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00324728.2021.2009013">unethical “population control” measures</a> in some countries. </p>
<p>Some (such as Paul Ehrlich, author of the controversial 1960’s book “The Population Bomb”) argue that there are already too many people living on our planet, and that the sheer number of people is causing our current environmental crisis. But what overpopulation arguments frequently miss is that it’s not just about how many people are on the planet, but also how sustainably we live <a href="https://theconversation.com/global-population-hits-8-billion-but-per-capita-consumption-is-still-the-main-problem-194568">that matters</a>. Numbers cannot tell the full story.</p>
<p>The urgency with which we need to tackle the climate crisis also implies that opting not to have children for the sake of the climate would now prove insufficient and ineffective. Even with reduced fertility, the population will continue to grow because of <a href="https://theconversation.com/8-billion-people-why-trying-to-control-the-population-is-often-futile-and-harmful-194369">population momentum</a>. Even if the fertility rate is declining, there is still a large number of people of reproductive age in the global population, resulting in more births than deaths.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/8-billion-people-why-trying-to-control-the-population-is-often-futile-and-harmful-194369">8 billion people: why trying to control the population is often futile – and harmful</a>
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<p>The participants of several studies pointed out that more structural solutions, such as drastic reductions in carbon emissions, are urgently needed and promise to be more effective than reducing family size. </p>
<h2>Uncertainty about the future</h2>
<p>Are you worried your future children may not be able to enjoy nature due to damaged ecosystems? Perhaps you’re concerned about a more catastrophic outcome, such as full societal collapse? The review shows that these are major themes influencing people’s decision to have fewer children, particularly for those living in the US, Canada, Europe and New Zealand. </p>
<p>These concerns are understandable. The UN’s recent <a href="https://www.unep.org/resources/emissions-gap-report-2023">emissions gap report</a> concluded that there is only a 14% chance that the world will limit global warming to the maximum 1.5°C rise that is being called for by climate scientists.</p>
<p>At the same time, hundreds of millions of people around the globe are already experiencing the catastrophic consequences of climate change in their everyday lives. In Zambia and Ethiopia, for example, climate change concerns are having much more immediate impacts on childbearing.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A baby holds on to his mother and looks at the camera in Liliachi, Zambia." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561429/original/file-20231123-15-nutmf2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561429/original/file-20231123-15-nutmf2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561429/original/file-20231123-15-nutmf2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561429/original/file-20231123-15-nutmf2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561429/original/file-20231123-15-nutmf2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=546&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561429/original/file-20231123-15-nutmf2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=546&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561429/original/file-20231123-15-nutmf2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=546&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">in Zambia and Ethiopia, people desired fewer children to meet subsistence needs during periods of declining agricultural productivity.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/liliachi-zambia-circa-2017-unidentified-african-789944029">violent_strings/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In a <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-021-11560-8">study</a> from 2021, which explored the impact of droughts on Zambian women’s social and financial wellbeing and their reproductive lives, one participant said: “The six children I desire to have may not have enough food to eat.” But in order to have fewer children, people require access to contraception, the supply of which can be disrupted, particularly in times of crisis. </p>
<p>In parallel, other respondents in Zambia reported that they are considering having more children to provide financial and labour support. This highlights how the climate crisis is already and very directly impeding <a href="https://www.sistersong.net/">reproductive justice</a> – the right to have children, to not have children, and to parent in safe and healthy environments – especially in the global south (lower income countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America).</p>
<h2>Childbearing as a political choice</h2>
<p>Ultimately, the climate crisis is a collective, and therefore political, crisis. We are much more likely to avoid the worst climate outcomes if we mandate our governments to drastically reduce the emissions generated by industry and consumers than if we concentrate on changing our own individual behaviours.</p>
<p>One <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2021.1902700">study</a> included in the review made this point by analysing how environmental activists approached childbearing decisions. Some decided not to have children as a means of exerting political pressure and advocacy, for example, through the former <a href="https://birthstrikemovement.org/about/">BirthStrike movement</a>.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/too-afraid-to-have-kids-how-birthstrike-for-climate-lost-control-of-its-political-message-181198">'Too afraid to have kids' – how BirthStrike for Climate lost control of its political message</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<p>For others, not having children was a choice made to free up time and energy for political and advocacy activities centring on the climate crisis. Some people instead saw having children as a way of raising future activists.</p>
<p>In the end, the choice is deeply personal. The only “right” answer is the one that is best for you. But we can all do more to make sure policies help everyone enact their own choices.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
<br><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeTop">Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead.</a> Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeBottom">Join the 20,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.</a></em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218281/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jasmine Fledderjohann is a member of the British Society for Population Studies and receives funding from UKRI in the form of a Future Leaders Fellowship (grant number MR/T021950/1).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura Sochas consults for Options Consultancy Services. She is funded through a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship. She is affiliated with the British Society of Population Studies and the Universities and Colleges Union.</span></em></p>Is the disastrous impact we’re having on the planet affecting our decision about having children of our own?Jasmine Fledderjohann, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Lancaster UniversityLaura Sochas, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, School of Social and Political Science, The University of EdinburghLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2178792023-11-17T14:10:49Z2023-11-17T14:10:49ZClimate complacency: study finds even the most informed people would rather take the easy option<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559937/original/file-20231116-20-o7i5ux.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6401%2C4261&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Energy efficient lightbulbs are useful – but more radical actions are available.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/man-changing-light-bulb-lamp-home-1956959236">New Africa / shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It is often argued that all we need to do is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2017.11.015">raise awareness</a> of a “global emergency” and <a href="https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2021/10/06/the-climate-crisis-and-the-rise-of-eco-anxiety/">rising eco-anxiety</a> means individuals will “do the right thing”. Our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652623035564">new study</a> indicates this just is not the case.</p>
<p>We asked a balanced panel of 381 people about their opinions, beliefs, and awareness of climate change. Participants used a survey to identify which things they would be most willing to change to reduce carbon emissions. </p>
<p>These options varied from small tweaks such as switching to more efficient lightbulbs – an easy change but one that doesn’t hugely reduce emissions – to behavioural changes such as switching to a plant-based diet, which would reduce emissions considerably but requires a much bigger lifestyle change.</p>
<p>We might expect that people who are well aware of the severity of the climate crisis and who already demonstrate high eco-anxiety would opt for larger, more impactful behavioural changes. We might expect that high awareness and emotional engagement would lead to a clear willingness to make larger changes. </p>
<p>But that was not the case. Instead, we found that regardless of an individual’s stated environmental opinion and beliefs most opted for the easiest, but least impactful options. This goes against the oft-expressed view that all we need to do is explain just how bad the situation is and people will change.</p>
<p>We also found that demographic characteristics – culture, age, and socioeconomic background – had little bearing on how far individuals would go to change their behaviour to reduce their carbon emissions. Across all demographics the preferences were to take the easiest, least impactful options and strongly reject the more difficult and more sustainable options. </p>
<p>There were nuances: those with higher household incomes were more reluctant to reduce their overseas air travel, whereas those from lower income households considered this less of a priority. However, this may be due to the high cost of flights rather than a particular willingness to change that behaviour.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559941/original/file-20231116-15-ur5x78.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="People on beach look at low flying plane" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559941/original/file-20231116-15-ur5x78.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/559941/original/file-20231116-15-ur5x78.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559941/original/file-20231116-15-ur5x78.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559941/original/file-20231116-15-ur5x78.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559941/original/file-20231116-15-ur5x78.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559941/original/file-20231116-15-ur5x78.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/559941/original/file-20231116-15-ur5x78.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wealthier people were more reluctant to give up overseas flights.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sint-maarten-dutch-antilles-january-01-1991234534">Captain Wang / shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Awareness alone is not enough</h2>
<p>All this means that simply raising awareness and trying to nudge people into changing their behaviour is unlikely to have the necessary impact. </p>
<p>We have previously analysed <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/15/9238">various “light touch” policies</a> such as carbon labelling, which provide information on how people can reduce their personal carbon consumption, but still allow them to act how they please. We found the public was indeed informed, but since nothing was enforced no emission reduction or behaviour change could be guaranteed. </p>
<p>We also looked at proposed policies such as carbon taxes which are are applied upstream and passed on to consumers. While this may lead to some emission reductions it may also enforce negative social impacts, such as those on lower incomes having to make drastic life changes while the affluent carry on as normal.</p>
<p>In our work we have considered the concept of <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159238">personal carbon budgets</a>. This involves assigning an amount of carbon per person that they can spend how they please, but they must exist within that limit. Such a system would need careful design and monitoring to ensure it was applied fairly, especially for the most vulnerable in society. </p>
<p>However, despite high awareness, high eco-anxiety and calls for immediate change, the public believe others should take responsibility for action. The public believe action should either be a “group effort” between all forms of governments, businesses and individuals, or just national government.</p>
<p>Without state intervention, we simply won’t see any meaningful changes to business and industry practices, and lifestyles and consumption habits. We cannot keep using encouragement and hope. </p>
<p>Politicians who suggest policies such as personal carbon budgets are unlikely to be elected. And the much vaunted “<a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/environment/the-polluter-pays-principle_9789264044845-en">polluter pays principle</a>”, first introduced by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development in 1972, has <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/laws4030638">failed to ensure that polluters pay</a> fully for the social and environmental costs of their pollution.</p>
<p>We recognise that this is an <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/wicked-problems-15681">immense and complex problem</a> for scientists, governments, and politicians. How do we address climate change if governments will not make polluters pay and if we will not alter our own self-destructive behaviour? </p>
<p>It seems that we know the problem, we know how to solve it, we know we are all in it together and everyone needs to play their part – but we seem incapable of action.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217879/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alice Brock receives funding from The South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ian Williams receives funding from EU Horizon 2020 and EPSRC. Ian Williams is a member of the International Solid Waste Association, the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management and the Royal Society of Chemistry.</span></em></p>Everyone surveyed opted for the least impactful climate actions, regardless of their level of knowledge or worries.Alice Brock, PhD Candidate in Environmental Science, University of SouthamptonIan Williams, Professor of Applied Environmental Science, University of SouthamptonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2165032023-11-03T17:29:56Z2023-11-03T17:29:56ZIt’s time to limit how often we can travel abroad – ‘carbon passports’ may be the answer<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556887/original/file-20231031-15-1auro3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=64%2C0%2C7128%2C4748&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-carries-luggage-airport-terminal-403443151">Shine Nucha/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The summer of 2023 has been very significant for the travel industry. By the end of July, international tourist arrivals globally <a href="https://www.unwto.org/news/international-tourism-swiftly-overcoming-pandemic-downturn">reached 84% of pre-pandemic levels</a>. In <a href="https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/jrc-news-and-updates/eu-tourism-almost-full-recovery-pre-pandemic-levels-2023-10-23_en">some European countries</a>, such as France, Denmark and Ireland, tourism demand even surpassed its pre-pandemic level.</p>
<p>This may be great <a href="https://skift.com/insight/state-of-travel/">news economically</a>, but there’s concern that a return to the status quo is already showing dire environmental and social consequences. </p>
<p>The summer saw record-breaking heatwaves across many parts of the world. People
were forced to flee <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/24/greece-wildfires-corfu-evia-rhodes-heatwave-northern-hemisphere-extreme-weather-temperatures-europe">wildfires in Greece</a> and <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/hawaii-fires-update-biden-b2393188.html">Hawaii</a>, and extreme <a href="https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/world-news/foreign-office-issues-spain-weather-27339111">weather warnings</a> were issued in many popular holiday destinations like Portugal, Spain and Turkey. Experts <a href="https://theconversation.com/european-heatwave-whats-causing-it-and-is-climate-change-to-blame-209653">attributed these extreme conditions</a> to climate change.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/european-heatwave-whats-causing-it-and-is-climate-change-to-blame-209653">European heatwave: what’s causing it and is climate change to blame?</a>
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<p>Tourism is part of the problem. The tourism sector <a href="https://wttc.org/Portals/0/Documents/Reports/2021/WTTC_Net_Zero_Roadmap.pdf">generates around one-tenth</a> of the greenhouse gas emissions that are driving the climate crisis.</p>
<p>The negative impacts of tourism on the environment have become so severe that some are suggesting drastic changes to our travel habits are inevitable. In a <a href="https://www.intrepidtravel.com/sites/intrepid/files/basic_page/files/A%20Sustainable%20Future%20For%20Travel%20From%20Crisis%20To%20Transformation-231016-02.pdf">report</a> from 2023 that analysed the future of sustainable travel, tour operator Intrepid Travel proposed that “carbon passports” will soon become a reality if the tourism industry hopes to survive. </p>
<h2>What is a carbon passport?</h2>
<p>The idea of a carbon passport centres on each traveller being assigned a yearly carbon allowance that they cannot exceed. These allowances can then “ration” travel. </p>
<p>This concept may seem extreme. But the idea of personal carbon allowances is not new. A <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmselect/cmenvaud/565/565.pdf">similar concept</a> (called “personal carbon trading”) was discussed in the House of Commons in 2008, before being shut down due to its perceived complexity and the possibility of public resistance. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/carbon-footprint-calculator/#:%7E:text=A%20carbon%20footprint%20is%20the,is%20closer%20to%204%20tons.">average annual carbon footprint</a> for a person in the US is 16 tonnes – one of the highest rates in the world. In the UK this figure sits at 11.7 tonnes, still more than five times the figure recommended by the <a href="https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/the-average-british-carbon-footprint-is-five-times-over-paris-agreement-recommendations/152669/#:%7E:text=Despite%20rising%20environmental%20awareness%20across,equivalent%20(tCO2e)%20per%20year.">Paris Agreement</a> to keep global temperature rise below 1.5°C. </p>
<p>Globally, the average annual carbon footprint of a person is closer to 4 tonnes. But, to have the best chance of preventing temperature rise from overshooting 2°C, the average global carbon footprint <a href="https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/carbon-footprint-calculator/#:%7E:text=Globally%2C%20the%20average%20carbon%20footprint,tons%20doesn't%20happen%20overnight!">needs to drop</a> to under 2 tonnes by 2050. This figure equates to around <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2019/jul/19/carbon-calculator-how-taking-one-flight-emits-as-much-as-many-people-do-in-a-year">two return flights</a> between London and New York. </p>
<p>Intrepid Travel’s report predicts that we will see carbon passports in action by 2040. However, <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/travel-short-haul-flights-europe-under-fire-climate-change-cop26/">several laws and restrictions</a> have been put in place over the past year that suggest our travel habits may already be on the verge of change.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556889/original/file-20231031-23-kfakh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Boeing 777 with Manhattan in the background lining up on at JFK airport in New York." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556889/original/file-20231031-23-kfakh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556889/original/file-20231031-23-kfakh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=155&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556889/original/file-20231031-23-kfakh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=155&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556889/original/file-20231031-23-kfakh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=155&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556889/original/file-20231031-23-kfakh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=195&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556889/original/file-20231031-23-kfakh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=195&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556889/original/file-20231031-23-kfakh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=195&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Taking a flight from London to New York generates about 986kg of CO₂ per passenger.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/new-york-january-2-boeing-777-93592174">Eliyahu Yosef Parypa/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Targeting air travel</h2>
<p>Between 2013 and 2018, the amount of CO₂ emitted by commercial aircrafts worldwide <a href="https://theicct.org/sites/default/files/publications/ICCT_CO2-commercl-aviation-2018_20190918.pdf">increased by 32%</a>. Improvements in fuel efficiency are slowly reducing per passenger emissions. But <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1352231014004889">research</a> from 2014 found that whatever the industry’s efforts to reduce its carbon emissions, they will be outweighed by the growth in air traffic. </p>
<p>For emission reductions to have any meaningful effect, ticket prices would have to rise by 1.4% each year, discouraging some people from flying. However, in reality, <a href="https://www.climatecentral.org/news/increase-in-flights-will-outweigh-carbon-cuts-17875">ticket prices are falling</a>.</p>
<p>Some European countries are beginning to take measures to reduce air travel. As of April 1 2023, passengers on short-haul flights and older aircraft in Belgium have been <a href="https://www.euronews.com/green/2022/12/12/private-jets-and-short-haul-flights-face-pollution-busting-tax-increases-in-belgium">subject to increased taxes</a> to encourage alternative forms of travel.</p>
<p>Less than two months later France banned <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65687665">short-haul domestic flights</a> where the same trip can be made by train in two-and-a-half hours or less. <a href="https://businesstravelerusa.com/news/spain-to-follow-frances-lead-plans-to-ban-short-haul-domestic-flights/">Spain</a> is expected to follow suit. </p>
<p>A similar scheme could also be on the horizon for Germany. In 2021, a <a href="https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/seventy-percent-germans-favour-banning-short-haul-flights-survey">YouGov poll</a> found that 70% of Germans would support such measures to fight climate change if alternative transport routes like trains or ships were available. </p>
<h2>Cruises and carbon</h2>
<p>It’s not just air travel that’s being criticised. An <a href="https://www.transportenvironment.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/The-return-of-the-cruise-June-2023.pdf">investigation</a> by the European Federation for Transport and Environment in 2023 found that cruise ships pump four times as many sulphuric gases (which are proven to cause acid rain and <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesellsmoor/2019/04/26/cruise-ship-pollution-is-causing-serious-health-and-environmental-problems/?sh=468ee2f637db">several respiratory conditions</a>) into the atmosphere than all of Europe’s 291 million cars combined. </p>
<p>Statistics like these have forced European destinations to <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/8727387d-590d-43bd-a305-b5ec208a4dfe">take action</a> against the cruise industry. In July, Amsterdam’s council <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66264226">banned cruise ships</a> from docking in the city centre in a bid to reduce tourism and pollution – an initiative that has shown success elsewhere.</p>
<p>In 2019 Venice was the most polluted European port, due to large numbers of cruise ship visits. But it dropped to 41st place in 2022 after a ban on large cruise ships entering the city’s waters <a href="https://www.transportenvironment.org/discover/europes-luxury-cruise-ships-emit-as-much-toxic-sulphur-as-1bn-cars-study/">reduced air pollutants from ships</a> in Venice by 80%.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Gondolas in the foreground of a huge cruise ship in Venice." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556894/original/file-20231031-23-krj8r8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556894/original/file-20231031-23-krj8r8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556894/original/file-20231031-23-krj8r8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556894/original/file-20231031-23-krj8r8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556894/original/file-20231031-23-krj8r8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556894/original/file-20231031-23-krj8r8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556894/original/file-20231031-23-krj8r8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In 2022, Venice imposed a ban on large cruise ships entering the city’s waters.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/gondolas-on-background-huge-cruise-ship-243221659">Ugis Riba/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Changing destinations</h2>
<p>Intrepid Travel’s report also highlights that not only how we travel, but <a href="https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/jrc-news-and-updates/global-warming-reshuffle-europes-tourism-demand-particularly-coastal-areas-2023-07-28_en">where we travel</a> will soon be impacted by climate change. Boiling temperatures will probably diminish the allure of traditional beach destinations, prompting European tourists to search for cooler destinations such as Belgium, Slovenia and Poland for their summer holidays. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Tour-Operators/Travelers-seek-cooler-destinations-this-summer">Several travel agencies</a> reported seeing noticeable increases in holiday bookings to cooler European destinations like Scandinavia, Ireland and the UK during 2023’s peak summer travel months.</p>
<p>Whatever the solution may be, changes to our travel habits look inevitable. Destinations across the globe, from <a href="https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/barcelonas-war-on-tourism-ada-colau/">Barcelona</a> to the <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/italy-tourism-bans-controls-fees-restrictions/a-66453047">Italian riveria</a> and even <a href="https://theconversation.com/death-on-everest-the-boom-in-climbing-tourism-is-dangerous-and-unsustainable-114033">Mount Everest</a> are already calling for limits on tourist numbers as they struggle to cope with crowds and pollution. </p>
<p>Holidaymakers should prepare to change their travel habits now, before this change is forced upon them. </p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ross Bennett-Cook does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The clock could be ticking for the travel industry unless action is taken to change our travel habits.Ross Bennett-Cook, Visiting Lecturer, School of Architecture + Cities, University of WestminsterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2141322023-10-11T20:44:08Z2023-10-11T20:44:08ZHow oil companies put the responsibility for climate change on consumers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549664/original/file-20230914-4201-zir9fo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1000%2C667&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Aerial view of an oil sands operation in Alberta.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The political response to the climate crisis remains largely inadequate in the face of heat waves, hurricanes, floods and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/climate/quebec-climate-change-wildfires-research-1.6943502">forest fires</a> that are accelerating and <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/effects/">intensifying</a>. </p>
<p>The political inertia can be explained, among other things, by the stranglehold of fossil fuel interests on political decision-makers, and the strong influence polluting industries have on the spheres of power in North America. </p>
<p>These industries use two types of discourse to secure their interests. First, they discredit and marginalize ecological issues. Just think, for example, of the actions taken by oil and gas companies against climate policies, such as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/aug/20/gas-industry-waging-war-against-climate-action">in Seattle, Wash.</a>, where they hired lobbyists to torpedo pro-environmental policies adopted by the city, and simultaneously paid Instagram influencers to promote gas. </p>
<p>Secondly, industry acts to convince people that their polluting activities are compatible with managing the climate and environmental crises. These rebranding strategies are part of a wider objective of “greenwashing” extractive activities. Over the past three decades, the five biggest U.S. oil companies have spent <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jan/08/oil-companies-climate-crisis-pr-spending#:%7E:text=Over%20roughly%20the%20last%20three,money%20groups%20and%20campaign%20donations.">more than US$3 billion</a> on marketing and donations to boost their communications with the general public and political decision-makers. </p>
<h2>Making citizens responsible for curbing the climate crisis</h2>
<p>One particularly significant rhetorical strategy the oil industry has adopted is to place responsibility for climate change mitigation and adaptation on the individual.</p>
<p>By putting the burden of reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions — and consequently the fight against climate change — on individuals, oil companies and their political allies are taking the onus off themselves to make changes to their fossil fuel production, consumption and exploitation practices.</p>
<p>As a doctoral student in political science and a specialist in climate change adaptation, I have examined the interests, ideas and institutions that shape and restrict our adaptation practices. For the past three years, I have been analyzing environmental discourses in Louisiana to explain why climate policies are moving so slowly.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="View of an oil refinery, with mountains in the background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548420/original/file-20230914-22774-qv076i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548420/original/file-20230914-22774-qv076i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548420/original/file-20230914-22774-qv076i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548420/original/file-20230914-22774-qv076i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548420/original/file-20230914-22774-qv076i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548420/original/file-20230914-22774-qv076i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548420/original/file-20230914-22774-qv076i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An oil refinery in Burnaby, B.C.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The carbon footprint as a symbol of industry marketing</h2>
<p>The most obvious expression of this strategy of placing responsibility on the individual is the creation of the carbon footprint. Born of a <a href="https://mashable.com/feature/carbon-footprint-pr-campaign-sham">communications strategy by the giant British Petroleum</a> in the early 2000s called “Beyond Petroleum,” the carbon footprint measures the impact of individual consumption on greenhouse gas emissions. </p>
<p>Through <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/18/the-forgotten-oil-ads-that-told-us-climate-change-was-nothing">numerous advertisements</a> promoting the importance of individual action in the climate crisis, BP has succeeded in shifting responsibility for the climate problem onto the consumer. This, in turn, removes the industry’s responsibility for finding solutions and reducing carbon emissions. </p>
<p>BP’s “Beyond Petroleum” campaign was also designed to encourage individuals to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle while maintaining their consumption levels. This strategy contributes to what researchers Karl Smerecnik and Valerie Renegar of San Diego State University and Southwestern University call <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17524031003760879">capitalistic agency</a>. </p>
<p>By endorsing the environmentalist image and removing themselves as the source of the problem, oil giants limit people’s ability to think about other forms of environmental action beyond consumption, and thus, economic growth. It confines the individual and his or her responsibility towards climate change within the logic of the market, reducing the possibilities for systemic transformation. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="gas station, with parked cars" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548421/original/file-20230914-29-77m7k1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548421/original/file-20230914-29-77m7k1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548421/original/file-20230914-29-77m7k1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548421/original/file-20230914-29-77m7k1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548421/original/file-20230914-29-77m7k1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548421/original/file-20230914-29-77m7k1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548421/original/file-20230914-29-77m7k1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A gas station of the multinational British Petroleum (BP), in Cordoba, Greece.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590332221002335">ExxonMobil and Total also engage in the same strategies</a>. They emphasize greenhouse gas emissions as a problem of demand, not supply, creating an imaginary concept around <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/aug/23/big-oil-coined-carbon-footprints-to-blame-us-for-their-greed-keep-them-on-the-hook">the individual as a consumer</a> and the sole stakeholder responsible for mitigating climate change. </p>
<p>This communication strategy legitimizes the continued production of fossil fuels and serves to protect the industry from restrictive environmental regulations by pointing the finger at growing demand.</p>
<h2>Louisiana’s “green” and community-based oil industry</h2>
<p>My doctoral research on the political discourses and practices of adaptation in Louisiana shows that fossil fuel industries rely on this rhetorical and marketing logic. “Greenwashing” enables them to turn their role on its head and present themselves as genuine environmental saviours by investing in coastal restoration and promoting an eco-responsible, community-based industry.</p>
<p>Lobbyists for major oil companies like ExxonMobil and advocacy groups like the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Association, as well as their political partners in the Louisiana Senate and House of Representatives, insist on the “green” nature of fossil fuels. </p>
<p>This rhetoric conveys the idea that preserving extractive activities is a benefit for the United States and for the fight against climate change. According to this line of reasoning, American oil and gas have a better carbon footprint than oil and gas produced internationally. They, therefore, help reduce global emissions in the face of growing consumer demand. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/01/17/ohio-natural-gas-green-energy/">“green” fossil fuel narrative</a> is also gaining momentum in the legislative spheres of other states, ensuring the stranglehold of these industries on local economies. </p>
<p>Referring to the ecological activities of oil companies in Louisiana as a true “Cajun environmental movement,” lobbyists solicit local identities and citizen support in an effort to preserve their operating activities. This other form of individualization targets climate policies, particularly those of the Biden administration, as a direct attack on the interests and well-being of local populations. </p>
<p>A veritable “oil culture” has thus emerged through community investment (for example, Shell’s long-standing funding of the Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans, or of local hurricane recovery operations). It also highlights the entanglement of Cajun identities with the historical development of the local oil industry. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548419/original/file-20230914-19-rfrjml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548419/original/file-20230914-19-rfrjml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548419/original/file-20230914-19-rfrjml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548419/original/file-20230914-19-rfrjml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548419/original/file-20230914-19-rfrjml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548419/original/file-20230914-19-rfrjml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548419/original/file-20230914-19-rfrjml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hip-hop singer Big Freedia performs at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival 2023, April 28, 2023. Shell has been funding the festival for years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Using individual responsibility to reinforce political inertia</h2>
<p>In Louisiana in particular, individualization can be seen in the popular support for extractive activities and the rejection of restrictive regulations or environmental movements. Positioned as true environmental and community protectors, oil and gas industries maintain their influence in legislative spheres through political lobbying and the support of public opinion. In this way, they manage to stave off any reconsideration of their operating practices.</p>
<p>Large-scale individualization, whether through BP’s campaigns or <a href="https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy-environment/news/france-to-plant-1bn-trees-by-2030/">French President Emmanuel Macron’s</a> appeal to schoolchildren to plant trees, reverses responsibility for the fight against climate change. It encourages the political inertia that continues to protect the interests of polluting industries.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214132/count.gif" alt="La Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah M. Munoz has received funding from the Montreal Centre for International Studies, the Centre for the Study of Democraric Citizenship, the Collectif de recherche Action Politique et Démocratie and Mitacs.</span></em></p>By making individuals responsible for reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, the oil industry is deflecting responsibility for making profound changes in their production practices.Sarah M. Munoz, Doctoral researcher in political science / Doctorante en science politique, Université de MontréalLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2111432023-09-26T15:16:39Z2023-09-26T15:16:39ZWhat’s the carbon footprint of owning pet fish? An expert explains<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549367/original/file-20230920-21-sqqv47.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=40%2C0%2C4464%2C2967&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">One of the most popular species of fish found in tropical marine aquariums is the common clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris).</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/unhappy-clown-fish-swims-aquarium-tank-1449838790">jflin98/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>While the environmental impact of having <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-cats-and-dogs-affect-the-climate-and-what-you-can-do-about-it-206812">dogs and cats</a> as pets has been examined to some extent, the impact of keeping pet fish has remained unexplored – until now. </p>
<p>Dogs in particular have a significant carbon “<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-about-your-carbon-pawprint-9878">pawprint</a>”. An average-size dog (weighing 10-20kg) in Europe is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biz044">responsible</a> for between 349 and 1,424kg of CO₂-equivalent emissions per year – compared with between 150kg and 251kg of CO₂-eq for an average-size cat (weighing 2kg-6kg). </p>
<p>But there had never been a study examining the carbon footprint of pet fish, despite <a href="https://ornamentalfish.org/wp-content/uploads/OATA-Annual-Report-2020-21-online.pdf">4 million</a> households owning them in the UK alone – <a href="https://www.ornamentalfish.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Customer-Profile-Survey-Results-2011-2012.pdf">70% of which</a> are tropical freshwater fish.</p>
<p>My <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.15478">study</a> found the carbon footprint of a tropical aquarium in the UK ranges from 85.3kg to 635.2 kg of CO₂-eq per year – equivalent to between 1.6% and 12.4% of the average UK household’s annual emissions. This estimate is based on a range of scenarios including aquarium sizes between 50 and 400 litres and different tank operating conditions. But most household aquariums sold by retailers are in the 50-to-100 litre range.</p>
<p>Electricity generation is the main source of emissions from tropical aquariums. Maintaining one requires lots of electricity to power the heaters, lights and pumps. This electricity consumption is much greater in emissions terms than the CO₂ produced in transporting tropical fish from countries such as Singapore or Indonesia to the UK and Europe.</p>
<p>However, the precise carbon footprint of an aquarium varies depending on its location. For example, tropical fish kept in France have a much smaller carbon footprint than those kept in the UK, because the French electricity grid is <a href="https://ember-climate.org/countries-and-regions/countries/france/">more decarbonised</a>.</p>
<p>This also means that as electricity grids continue to decarbonise globally, and especially in Europe, the carbon footprint of keeping tropical fish will decrease.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two graphs showing the carbon emissions of keeping pet fish" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547316/original/file-20230909-48264-8gkxww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547316/original/file-20230909-48264-8gkxww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=278&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547316/original/file-20230909-48264-8gkxww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=278&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547316/original/file-20230909-48264-8gkxww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=278&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547316/original/file-20230909-48264-8gkxww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547316/original/file-20230909-48264-8gkxww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547316/original/file-20230909-48264-8gkxww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">(a) Yearly carbon emissions produced by heating different-sized aquariums in three countries (green = Poland, blue = UK, red = France) whose electricity grids have various levels of decarbonisation. (b) Yearly carbon emissions of running a 200 -litre aquarium (2000-2022) and predicted emissions for 2040 based on pledges to decarbonise electricity grids.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Perry; Journal of Fish Biology (2023)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Water consumption</h2>
<p>Water consumption is another factor to consider. Tropical aquariums are closed systems so fish waste can build up, increasing the levels of ammonia which is deadly to fish. So, fishkeepers must perform regular water changes – which means replacing the aquarium water with treated tap water or, for marine fish, water that has been purified using <a href="https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/features/what-you-need-to-know-about-reverse-osmosis/">reverse osmosis</a> (whereby water is pushed under pressure through a semi-permeable membrane). However, reverse osmosis is not efficient and produces five litres of reject water for every one litre of purified water.</p>
<p>Estimates of water consumption for tropical aquariums vary depending on aquarium size, use of reverse osmosis, frequency of water changes and amount of water replaced. Based on industry recommendations and a range of aquarium sizes, I estimated that tropical aquariums can use anywhere between 156 and 31,200 litres of water per year.</p>
<p>For example, if you have a 50-litre aquarium and you change 6% of the water <a href="https://www.fishkeeper.co.uk/faq/how-often-and-much-do-i-need-to-change-my-aquarium-water-and-clean-my-filter/">every week</a> with tap water, you would use 156 litres per year. But if you have a 400-litre aquarium and do a 25% water change every week with a reverse osmosis system, you could use up to 31,200 litres per year. </p>
<p>Clearly, these examples represent two extremes of water consumption, equivalent to between 0.2% and 30.1% of the average UK household’s annual water use. While the upper limit can sound alarming, most aquariums sit in the middle range by both water use and emissions. But, given that drought events are expected to increase under future climate scenarios, any additional levels of water consumption can quickly become unsustainable. </p>
<p>Context is also important, as estimates on energy consumption are based on the aquarium being in a 20C (68F) room. If a central heating system is on all day or it is a warm summer’s day, this will reduce the emissions generated from heating the aquarium. Alternatively, if the room is colder than 20C, those emissions will be higher – although the heat from the aquarium will also heat the room, so may be viewed as an electric radiator.</p>
<h2>Ways to reduce environmental impact of pet fish</h2>
<p>My estimates provide the first insights into the environmental impact of a popular hobby. They show that keeping tropical fish is generally a more environmentally friendly option than keeping a dog or even a cat.</p>
<p>They can also inform our decisions on how to reduce the environmental impact of keeping fish, such as: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Use renewable electricity, generated at home or by changing electricity provider.</p></li>
<li><p>Keep the water temperature as low as possible according to species guidelines. </p></li>
<li><p>Put aquarium lights and pumps on timers. </p></li>
<li><p>Only do water changes when necessary; and </p></li>
<li><p>Re-use the reject water both from your aquarium and the reverse osmosis system. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Keeping tropical fish is a great way to enjoy beautiful ecosystems in your home. Done correctly, it can also help prevent the world from becoming a little bit more tropical.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
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</figcaption>
</figure>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>William Perry does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research reveals the environmental impact of keeping tropical fish as household pets – but there are ways to reduce it.William Perry, Postdoctoral Research Associate at the School of Biosciences, Cardiff UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2047252023-05-23T12:26:34Z2023-05-23T12:26:34ZCoca-Cola’s biggest challenge in greening its operations is its own global marketing strategy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527279/original/file-20230519-21-55l4xo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=3%2C0%2C2041%2C1257&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Egyptian workers push Coca-Cola branded refrigerators, provided free to grocers, through a Cairo street.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/egyptian-workers-push-coca-cola-refrigerators-through-a-news-photo/140974398">Mohammed Al-Sehiti/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Coca-Cola is one of the world’s most widely recognized brands. Its global reach, spanning <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facts-about-coca-cola-2011-6">more than 200 countries</a>, was the theme of a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUMQeNw2QDA&t=22s">2020 commercial</a> that showed families drinking Coke with their meals in cities from Orlando, Florida, to Shanghai, London, Mexico City and Mumbai, India. </p>
<p>Operating on that scale creates a big carbon footprint. The company uses <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Citizen_Coke_The_Making_of_Coca_Cola_Cap/NhJ0AwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=citizen+coke+200,000&pg=PT244&printsec=frontcover&bshm=ncc/1">over 200,000 vehicles</a> to distribute its products every day and runs <a href="https://www.coca-colacompany.com/company/coca-cola-system">hundreds of bottling plants and syrup factories</a> across the globe. </p>
<p>But Coke’s single largest contribution to climate change comes from its refrigeration equipment. </p>
<p>Running refrigerators uses a lot of electricity, and some coolants in these systems are greenhouse gases that <a href="https://theconversation.com/us-china-commit-to-phase-down-climate-warming-hfcs-from-refrigerators-and-air-conditioners-but-what-will-replace-them-this-time-160241">trap heat in the atmosphere</a>. Almost two-thirds of the climate impact of refrigeration comes from electricity consumption, and refrigerants account for the rest. As of 2020, refrigeration produced <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.abe3692">nearly 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527277/original/file-20230519-23-7bk1q8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Black and white image of a small country store with a 'Drink Coca-Cola' sign over the door." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527277/original/file-20230519-23-7bk1q8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527277/original/file-20230519-23-7bk1q8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=767&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527277/original/file-20230519-23-7bk1q8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=767&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527277/original/file-20230519-23-7bk1q8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=767&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527277/original/file-20230519-23-7bk1q8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=963&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527277/original/file-20230519-23-7bk1q8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=963&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527277/original/file-20230519-23-7bk1q8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=963&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Coca-Cola’s marketing strategy emphasizes that a cold Coke should always be within reach. It started with outlets throughout the rural U.S. South, like this gas station and post office in Sprott, Alabama, photographed in 1935.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/locals-gather-on-the-porch-of-the-southern-cross-road-news-photo/514884972">Bettman via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>History suggests that the most effective way to shrink Coca-Cola’s refrigeration emissions may be to question whether the company needs that cooling equipment running around the clock at convenience stores on street corners worldwide. That’s a heretical notion for a company obsessed with making sure Coca-Cola is always within “<a href="https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/business-economy/robert-w-woodruff-1889-1985/">an arm’s reach of desire</a>,” as one Coke president put it. </p>
<p>As I show in my new book, “<a href="https://uncpress.org/book/9781469673332/country-capitalism/">Country Capitalism: How Corporations from the American South Remade Our Economy and the Planet</a>,” major companies like Coca-Cola have profited handsomely by making their products readily available worldwide. In doing so, they have created a fast-paced, long-distance form of commerce that is a major driver of our planet’s current ecological crisis.</p>
<h2>Wanted: An ideal refrigerant</h2>
<p>Refrigerants first became an environmental issue because of concerns about ozone loss, not climate change. Before the 1980s, the primary coolants used in refrigerators were chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs. Discovered in the 1920s by a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/15/magazine/cfcs-inventor.html">chemist at General Motors</a>, these compounds were odorless, nonflammable and seemingly nontoxic – all properties that made them useful to industry. In the following decades, CFCs became the chief refrigerant used to keep things cool.</p>
<p>Then, in the 1970s, researchers at the University of California found that CFCs could <a href="https://www.sciencehistory.org/historical-profile/mario-molina#">destroy stratospheric ozone</a>, a gas in the atmosphere that protects life on Earth from the Sun’s ultraviolet radiation. Nations ultimately moved to ban use of CFCs through the 1987 <a href="https://www.unep.org/ozonaction/who-we-are/about-montreal-protocol">Montreal Protocol</a>, one of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-earths-ozone-layer-still-at-risk-5-questions-answered-91470">most successful environmental treaties on record</a>. </p>
<p>Chemical companies such as DuPont led the way in promoting <a href="https://www.sciencediplomacy.org/article/2020/learning-success-lessons-in-science-and-diplomacy-montreal-protocol">new chlorine-free refrigerants</a>, called hydrofluorocarbons or HFCs, that would not deplete the ozone layer. Like CFCs, HFCs appealed to industry because they were odorless, nonflammable and posed no serious threats to human health.</p>
<p>But HFCs had a big drawback: They were powerful <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/greenhouse-gas">greenhouse gases</a> that trapped heat in the Earth’s atmosphere, warming the planet’s surface. Some HFCs had warming impacts <a href="https://unfccc.int/process/transparency-and-reporting/greenhouse-gas-data/greenhouse-gas-data-unfccc/global-warming-potentials">more than 1,000 times greater than carbon dioxide</a>, the most abundant greenhouse gas. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VNW3Y1_km7Y?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">How refrigerants work and why they’re bad for the climate.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>HFC politics</h2>
<p>Companies like Coca-Cola knew about HFCs’ climate-warming effects when they began transitioning to this new refrigerant in the 1990s. Bryan Jacobs, a Coca-Cola engineer who worked on this transition, <a href="https://uncpress.org/book/9781469673332/country-capitalism/">told me in an interview</a> that early on, refrigeration technicians in Europe recommended another promising path instead. </p>
<p>Greenpeace advocates in Germany had worked closely with refrigeration engineers to develop what came to be known as <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/international/story/15323/how-greenpeace-changed-an-industry-25-years-of-greenfreeze-to-cool-the-planet/">Greenfreeze cooling equipment</a>: machines that used hydrocarbons, including isobutane and propane, as refrigerants. These refrigerants, which had a global warming impact <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2016-12/documents/transitioning_to_low-gwp_alternatives_in_domestic_refrigeration.pdf">radically lower than HFCs</a>, offered the prospect of protecting both the ozone layer and the climate.</p>
<p>Jacobs told me that Coca-Cola was “pretty dismissive,” largely because his team feared that these refrigeration units filled with flammable material might explode – especially in rural areas lacking technical support. Instead, Coca-Cola shifted to HFCs.</p>
<p>In response, Greenpeace launched a <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/greenpeace-unveils-global-camp/">major campaign at the 2000 Sydney Olympics</a> to expose how Coca-Cola’s HFC units were warming the planet. Doug Daft, an Australian who was Coke’s CEO at the time, committed the company to eliminating HFC refrigeration from its systems in the years ahead. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1220572008683098112"}"></div></p>
<h2>Always within arm’s reach</h2>
<p>Since 2000, Coca-Cola has become a world leader in developing HFC-free refrigeration equipment. At first it invested heavily in a novel type of refrigerator that used <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/cocacola-environment/corrected-coke-to-move-to-climate-friendlier-vending-machines-idUSN0310795820091203">carbon dioxide</a> as the key refrigerant. Soon, however, the company recognized that hydrocarbon refrigerants posed fewer safety risks than they had initially feared, and began adopting these units as well. </p>
<p>Coca-Cola also convinced other companies to shift away from HFCs. Partnering with Unilever, Pepsi, Red Bull and other big firms, the company launched <a href="https://www.refrigerantsnaturally.com/">Refrigerants, Naturally!</a>, an organization committed to transitioning major food and beverage companies toward HFC-free refrigeration. In 2010, Coke CEO Muhtar Kent persuaded <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bh-hfc-retailers/global-retailers-to-phase-out-harmful-fridge-gases-idUSTRE6AT2ZH20101130">some 400 consumer goods companies</a> to commit to eliminating HFCs from their refrigeration systems. </p>
<p>By 2016, Coke reported that <a href="https://www.coca-colacompany.com/content/dam/journey/us/en/reports/coca-cola-business-and-sustainability-report-2022.pdf">61% of all new cooling equipment it purchased</a> was HFC-free. Four years later, that figure <a href="https://www.coca-colacompany.com/content/dam/journey/us/en/reports/coca-cola-business-and-sustainability-report-2022.pdf">reached 83%</a>. </p>
<p>Still, as of 2022, more than 10% of Coke’s new refrigeration units <a href="https://www.coca-colacompany.com/content/dam/journey/us/en/reports/coca-cola-business-and-sustainability-report-2022.pdf">contained HFCs</a>, and refrigeration remained its <a href="https://www.coca-colacompany.com/content/dam/journey/us/en/reports/coca-cola-business-and-sustainability-report-2022.pdf">single largest greenhouse gas emissions source</a>. Part of the problem is that all of these units run on electricity, much of which is generated by burning fossil fuels. With Coca-Cola selling <a href="https://www.coca-colacompany.com/company">roughly 2.2 billion drinks every day</a>, keeping Coke cold still has an enormous carbon footprint. The same is true for Coke’s competitors. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nrwtnncuu7Q?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Coca-Cola sells hundreds of beverage brands worldwide, reflecting its strategy for dominating the beverage market.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In an interview with Coca-Cola’s former chief sustainability officer, Jeff Seabright, I asked him whether the company had ever considered thinking more broadly about the necessity of cooling all those Cokes around the clock. Seabright’s response was an emphatic “No,” and that the company was still driven by the mantra of making Coke available for immediate consumption at the point of sale. </p>
<p>Despite the resources that Coca-Cola has invested in changing refrigerants, its cooling equipment is still warming our planet. As I see it, perhaps it’s time for Coke to question whether it needs all those machines in the first place – and for consumers to consider whether their have-it-now expectations are worth the environmental costs they impose.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204725/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bart Elmore received development funding from The University of North Carolina Press in support of the book discussed in this article. Based on his past work, including his 2015 book "Citizen Coke: The Making of Coca-Cola Capitalism," he was a recipient of the Dan David Prize in 2022. He was a fellow at the New America Foundation in 2017-2018.
</span></em></p>Coca-Cola has made ambitions climate and sustainability pledges, but marketing its products worldwide will always be a top priority.Bart Elmore, Professor of History, The Ohio State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2010642023-03-21T20:28:16Z2023-03-21T20:28:16ZCan the heat from running computers help grow our food? It’s complicated<p>Digital technologies are changing how food is produced. And it’s more than <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2022.106879">harvesting robots</a> that are arriving on the scene. Companies are now pairing data centres with greenhouses, capturing the <a href="https://substance.etsmtl.ca/en/heating-greenhouse-with-data-centre-waste-heat">heat emitted by computing hardware and reusing it to grow crops indoors</a>. </p>
<p>The new <a href="https://www.qscale.com/">QScale</a> data centre development in Lévis, Que. is one such project. The company claims that it will “<a href="https://datacentremagazine.com/data-centres/spotlight-qscale-bringing-green-growth-quebec">produce 2,800 tonnes of small fruit and more than 80,000 tonnes of tomatoes per year</a>” in greenhouses to be constructed adjacent to the facility. </p>
<p>In promotional campaigns, QScale picks up on the growing public attention to make food systems more local amid <a href="https://theconversation.com/inflation-bites-how-rising-food-costs-affect-nutrition-and-health-196048">supply chain disruptions</a> and rising grocery costs.</p>
<p>As social scientists researching the environmental footprint of digital technologies, we’re interested in the potential benefits and drawbacks of this new emerging connection. </p>
<h2>Data centres coming in hot</h2>
<p>Every time we access content online — whether it is a video or the latest social media post — it is sent to our device by a different computer, usually located <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-factories-of-the-past-are-turning-into-the-data-centers-of-the-future-70033">in a large data centre</a>. Also known as a “server farm,” a data centre is typically a warehouse-like building that hosts hundreds of computer servers that store, process and transmit big swaths of data. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dark-data-is-killing-the-planet-we-need-digital-decarbonisation-190423">'Dark data' is killing the planet – we need digital decarbonisation</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Data centres are increasingly criticized for their carbon footprint. The majority of emissions result from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/HPCA51647.2021.00076">manufacturing the hardware</a> they use. Servers also run day and night, continuously <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-06610-y">consuming energy</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/492174a">emitting heat</a>. Backup generators guarantee uninterrupted data flow. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="electric connection grid at a data centre" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515081/original/file-20230314-16-3noh3b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515081/original/file-20230314-16-3noh3b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515081/original/file-20230314-16-3noh3b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515081/original/file-20230314-16-3noh3b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515081/original/file-20230314-16-3noh3b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515081/original/file-20230314-16-3noh3b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515081/original/file-20230314-16-3noh3b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Servers in data centres run day and night, continuously consuming energy and emitting heat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>Temperature and humidity levels must be constantly <a href="https://www.akcp.com/blog/data-center-temperature-guidelines/">monitored and controlled</a> for the hardware to function efficiently and reliably. Data centres also have high <a href="https://dgtlinfra.com/data-center-water-usage/">water demands</a> for cooling purposes, so they are especially <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/drought-stricken-communities-push-back-against-data-centers-n1271344">contentious in dry areas</a>. </p>
<p>To bring energy consumption and costs down, data centre operators are increasingly looking to locate their facilities in regions with a <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/06/18/134902/icelands-data-centers-are-booming-heres-why-thats-a-problem/">cold climate</a>, which often also provide access to <a href="https://www.energymonitor.ai/tech/energy-efficiency/canada-the-best-country-for-energy-efficient-data-centres/">low-priced hydropower</a> — both are part of <a href="https://www.qscale.com/campuses/sustainability">QScale’s sustainability strategy</a>.</p>
<p>In addition, the industry is now viewing <a href="https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/analysis/waste-heat-warms/">“waste heat” as a valuable resource</a> and opportunity to increase its sustainability score. Existing examples of heat recycling from data centres include heating <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/microsoft-data-centres-heat-finnish-homes-cutting-emissions-2022-03-17/">residential buildings</a> and <a href="https://www.networkworld.com/article/2277915/swimming-pool-heated-by-data-center-s-excess-heat.html">swimming pools</a>. Now, so-called “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rineng.2019.100063">organic data centres</a>” propose to leverage waste heat for food production. </p>
<h2>Agricultural land re-zoned for data centres</h2>
<p>QScale’s Lévis data centre is a $867 million development, financed by both <a href="https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1808698/centre-traitement-donnes-haute-intensite-levis-qscale-investissement-867-millions">public and private capital</a>. The Québec provincial government acts as both investor and shareholder. </p>
<p>The government’s investment in QScale is part of two strategic goals: Supporting the province’s status as a <a href="https://www.investquebec.com/international/en/press-room/news/Quebec-A-global-hub-of-artificial-intelligence.html">hub for artificial intelligence</a> (which relies on data centre services and is especially energy intensive) and doubling the volume of <a href="https://www.quebec.ca/nouvelles/actualites/details/tout-le-quebec-sinvestit-quebec-veut-doubler-le-volume-de-culture-en-serre-dici-5-ans">greenhouse food production by 2025</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/it-takes-a-lot-of-energy-for-machines-to-learn-heres-why-ai-is-so-power-hungry-151825">It takes a lot of energy for machines to learn – here's why AI is so power-hungry</a>
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<p>For QScale, pairing the data centre with greenhouses is important to position itself in the public debate as <a href="https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2021/06/07/qscale-les-milliards-du-mariage-agriculture-techno">“greener” and locally owned</a> in opposition to the multinational competition. </p>
<p>For instance, <a href="https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1792024/google-centre-donnees-informatiques-beauharnois-terres-agricoles-quebec">Google’s new data centre</a> development in Beauharnois near Montréal will reportedly not include heat recycling and is also built on land originally zoned for agriculture, which is highly controversial.</p>
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<p>When new buildings cover valuable agricultural land, they <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/land11060840">seal soil</a> — a vital resource for long-term food sufficiency that is <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ont-farmland-loss-1.6493833">already shrinking</a> due to rezoning for urban sprawl. Soil sealing means that fertile land is covered by impermeable materials like concrete. </p>
<p>The Québec government’s intervention to rezone the land slated for Google’s data centre was <a href="https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1792024/google-centre-donnees-informatiques-beauharnois-terres-agricoles-quebec">heavily criticized</a> by Québec’s farmers’ union, the <em>Union des producteurs agricoles</em>. The union’s spokesperson pointed out that the cultivable <a href="https://www.equiterre.org/en/articles/news-dossier-agricultural-rezoning-in-quebec">agricultural area is only two per cent</a> of the province’s territory. </p>
<p>In QScale’s case, the city of Lévis purchased farmland located next to the data centre development. This land is slated to be re-sold to QScale or other parties to develop potential greenhouses. Through its envisioned heat recuperation for indoor agriculture, QScale aims to <a href="https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2021/06/07/qscale-les-milliards-du-mariage-agriculture-techno">contribute to local food autonomy</a>. Can this promise hold up?</p>
<h2>Are greenhouses green?</h2>
<p>Due to short growing seasons, Canada relies heavily on <a href="https://agriculture.canada.ca/en/sector/horticulture/reports/statistical-overview-canadian-fruit-industry-2021#a2.3">imported fruits and vegetables</a>, especially in the winter. This dependence became clear to the public when the COVID-19 pandemic <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2020.1823838">disrupted supply chains</a> and highlighted the fragility of the global food system. </p>
<p>Climate change and extreme weather events pose additional challenges, which was especially <a href="https://agriculture.canada.ca/en/sector/horticulture/reports/statistical-overview-canadian-fruit-industry-2021">evident in 2021</a> when a <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-a-heat-dome-an-atmospheric-scientist-explains-the-weather-phenomenon-baking-california-and-the-west-185569">heat dome</a> formed over British Columbia and <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-an-atmospheric-river-drenched-british-columbia-and-led-to-floods-and-mudslides-172021">devastating floods</a> followed later that year. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/b-c-floods-reveal-fragile-food-supply-chains-4-ways-to-manage-the-crisis-now-and-in-the-future-172220">B.C. floods reveal fragile food supply chains — 4 ways to manage the crisis now and in the future</a>
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<p>Taking crop production out of the fields and into indoor controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) could make the <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11061229">domestic food system more resilient</a> and ensure year-round access to fresh produce in Canada. Potential environmental benefits include reduced emissions from transportation and refrigeration, as well as <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13081258">more efficient land and water use</a> and reduced reliance on agrochemical inputs. </p>
<p>However, CEA systems have high energy demands to control the <a href="https://theconversation.com/food-security-vertical-farming-sounds-fantastic-until-you-consider-its-energy-use-102657">temperature, humidity and lighting conditions</a> all year round. For example, leafy vegetable vertical farms with artificial lighting <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150621">consume 100 times more</a> energy than those with natural sunlight. </p>
<p>Depending on the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/21/opinion/environment/climate-change-greenhouses-drought-indoor-farming.html">energy source</a> of the local grid, CEA greenhouse gas emissions can outweigh their benefits. The produced <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1178622121995819">crop variety</a> is relatively small, meaning that it cannot fully cover the nutritional needs of a local population. </p>
<p>The economic sustainability of CEA is also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34065-0_2">open to question</a>. It relies on <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90824702/vertical-farming-failing-profitable-appharvest-aerofarms-bowery">venture capital</a> investment that is currently drying up and a tech-start-up business model that may not be feasible for food production in the long run. </p>
<h2>Who will tend to the data centre-greenhouse crops?</h2>
<p>As it stands, agriculture in Canada and <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-is-creating-an-underclass-of-exploited-farm-workers-unable-to-speak-up-177063">elsewhere</a> relies on the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-cruel-trade-off-at-your-local-produce-aisle-90083">low-paid, precarious work</a> of seasonal migrants who are barred from unionizing and frequently face <a href="https://theconversation.com/migrant-farm-workers-vulnerable-to-sexual-violence-95839">abuse</a>. </p>
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<img alt="workers working in a greenhouse" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516289/original/file-20230320-24-igv467.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516289/original/file-20230320-24-igv467.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516289/original/file-20230320-24-igv467.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516289/original/file-20230320-24-igv467.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516289/original/file-20230320-24-igv467.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516289/original/file-20230320-24-igv467.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516289/original/file-20230320-24-igv467.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Governments must enforce labour standards, perform spontaneous inspections without prior notification of employers and ensure that workers know their rights.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>Conditions in the greenhouse industry are <a href="https://thenarwhal.ca/covid-19-migrant-farmworkers/">not necessarily better</a>. In 2021, temporary workers at Serres Demers, Québec’s largest greenhouse operator and <a href="https://www.lapresse.ca/affaires/entreprises/2021-06-16/qscale-discute-avec-les-serres-demers/des-serres-pourraient-etre-chauffees-par-des-centres-de-donnees.php">potential partner for QScale</a>, denounced unsanitary, crowded and dilapidated <a href="https://ici.radio-canada.ca/recit-numerique/2458/serres-demers-hebergement-travailleurs-etrangers-tomates">housing conditions</a>. </p>
<p>While <a href="https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1822170/logements-travaillers-etrangers-temporaires-renovations-tomates">this situation has reportedly improved</a> since it made media headlines, labour struggles for farm workers in greenhouses and fields persist. </p>
<p><em>Illusion Emploi</em>, an advocacy organization for non-unionized workers in Québec, states that the problems at Serres Demers are <a href="https://www.ledevoir.com/opinion/libre-opinion/607482/libre-opinion-le-cas-des-serres-demers-n-est-pas-unique">representative of widespread labour issues</a> in the industry. The organization implores the government to take action by enforcing labour standards, performing spontaneous inspections without prior notification of employers and ensuring that workers know their rights. </p>
<h2>Complex implications</h2>
<p>The benefits of integrating digital infrastructure and agriculture are not as clear-cut as their promoters suggest. </p>
<p>While recycling heat from data centres and thereby easing energy demands of greenhouses is certainly better than letting it go to waste, the <a href="https://commonplace.knowledgefutures.org/pub/jpy7pbq0/release/1">complex implications</a> of these two newly merging industries must not be overlooked. </p>
<p>If the continuing expansion of digital infrastructures is legitimized by adding greenhouses into the mix, it could conceal other issues at stake including the significant environmental and social impacts of hardware manufacturing, land use and labour.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201064/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Janna Frenzel receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada and Concordia University.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah-Louise Ruder receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada, the University of British Columbia's Public Scholars Initiative, and Future Skills Centre Canada.</span></em></p>While recuperating heat from data centres to ease greenhouse energy demands is better than letting it go to waste, we must not overlook the complex implications of these two newly merging industries.Janna Frenzel, PhD candidate in Communication Studies, Concordia UniversitySarah-Louise Ruder, PhD Candidate at the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, University of British ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2015402023-03-15T12:22:37Z2023-03-15T12:22:37ZWhat’s the carbon footprint of March Madness?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515313/original/file-20230314-5944-ntrn39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=59%2C44%2C4937%2C3281&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The environmental cost of that ticket is high.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/SWACTexasSouthernGramblingBasketball/6c96a2568e5d4b989670515108337c53/photo?Query=march%20madness&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=16200&currentItemNo=0">AP Photo/Butch Dill</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515356/original/file-20230315-3349-rv145j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515356/original/file-20230315-3349-rv145j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515356/original/file-20230315-3349-rv145j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515356/original/file-20230315-3349-rv145j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515356/original/file-20230315-3349-rv145j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515356/original/file-20230315-3349-rv145j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515356/original/file-20230315-3349-rv145j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<p>March Madness means 68 teams vying to become champion, Cinderella runs for a few underdogs and big business for the NCAA, which <a href="https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/ncaa-division-one-college-sports-march-madness-revenue-distribution-2023/">earns 85% of its annual operating budget</a> during the men’s basketball tournament. </p>
<p>But all of that comes at a tremendous cost: An estimated 463 million pounds (210 million kilograms) of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions are released into the atmosphere during the <a href="https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/mml-official-bracket/2023-03-12/2023-ncaa-printable-bracket-schedule-march-madness">three-week event</a>. That’s similar to all the emissions of a large university – such as 2019 champion <a href="https://reports.aashe.org/institutions/university-of-virginia-va/report/2021-03-04/OP/air-climate/OP-2/">University of Virginia</a> – for an entire year. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/carbon-emissions-2586">These greenhouse gas emissions</a> warm the planet, contributing to heat waves, sea level rise and extreme weather. <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Glossary:Carbon_dioxide_equivalent">Carbon dioxide equivalent</a> is a way of measuring the impact of several different greenhouse gases at once.</p>
<h2>Crunching carbon for large-scale event</h2>
<p>A colleague, <a href="https://jacoop.weebly.com/">Alex Cooper</a>, and I came up with this figure based on data for the 2019 NCAA Tournament. </p>
<p>Past research on the carbon footprint of sporting events has primarily focused on one-city events, such as the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2008.12.006">Football Association Challenge Cup in the U.K.</a> and centralized events <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-021-00696-5">like the Olympics</a>. Little prior research has sought to determine the environmental impact of a large-scale sporting event like the NCAA’s men’s basketball tournament. </p>
<p>In addition, when sports organizers do calculate and report emissions for their events, they typically only report <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2019-0254">what happens at their facility</a> during the event. They don’t consider the environmental impact, for example, of travel to and from the event. </p>
<p>So, we wanted to know, what’s the carbon tally for a huge and <a href="https://www.economist.com/culture/2022/03/25/why-americans-are-consumed-by-basketballs-march-madness">popular event</a> like March Madness?</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.128475">For our peer-reviewed study</a>, which was published in October 2021 in the Journal of Cleaner Production, we aimed to estimate the carbon emissions for all the activities that go into running a massive basketball tournament that takes place in multiple cities across the country in a short span of time. While our estimates are based on 2019, we believe that tournament-generated emissions are comparable to other years, including 2023.</p>
<p>We looked beyond facilities to consider team and fan flight and automobile travel, facility operations, food consumption, waste generation and lodging for everyone based on each team’s progression through the 2019 tournament. We used attendance estimates to determine the impact of <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1813/70974">hotel stays</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.07.052">fan and team air</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smr.2014.06.003">and automobile</a> travel, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14775085.2020.1726802">waste generation</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2011.12.054">food consumption</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09613218.2014.896141">sport facility operations</a> to form our carbon emission model. </p>
<p>Based on our model, we found that this resulted in 463 million pounds of CO2 equivalent emissions. That’s about 1,100 pounds (499 kilograms) for every player, coach and fan who attends. That amount is the same as <a href="https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/greenhouse-gas-emissions-typical-passenger-vehicle">driving over 1,200 miles (1,930 kilometers) in a typical sedan</a>. </p>
<p>The biggest source of emissions by far was, as you might expect, fan and team travel, which accounted for about 79.95% of the total. The next-largest was hotel stays at 6.83%, followed by food at 6.37%, stadium operations at 5.9% and general waste at 0.95%.</p>
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<p>What surprised us most was that the category of travel as a share of the total was lower than in previous studies that analyzed the carbon footprint of sporting events. But that was primarily because, unlike in those other studies, we considered many other aspects of the event, such as lodging, food and waste.</p>
<h2>Ways to mitigate impact</h2>
<p>So what can the organizers of March Madness – or any tournament, really – do to reduce the carbon footprint? </p>
<p>Since travel makes up so much of that footprint, targeting emissions from long-distance travel, such as flights, may be one of the most effective ways to lower the event’s overall impact, as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smr.2014.06.003">other researchers have noted</a>.</p>
<p>While travel can’t be completely eliminated for a tournament like the NCAA’s, organizers could consider more regional placements to reduce the distances fans and teams must travel. For example, in 2019, Mississippi State, Liberty, Virginia Tech, Saint Louis and Wisconsin all traveled to San Jose, California. The idea would be for more games to take place regionally to decrease travel distances. This would not only reduce carbon emissions but could also increase profits by making it easier for more fans to attend.</p>
<p>And when evaluating host cities and sites, the NCAA could consider local policies that encourage sustainable hotel operations. For example, during the 2019 tournament, California host sites had more <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1813/70974">energy-efficient hotel operations</a>, thus reducing the second-highest contributor to overall emissions. The same could be said about selecting arenas and sport facilities that are energy efficient.</p>
<p>March Madness brings tremendous value and enjoyment to college basketball fans throughout the country. While its carbon footprint can never be eliminated, there are ways to reduce its overlooked environmental cost.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201540/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brian P. McCullough does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>All those Cinderella stories, buzzer-beating finishes and wild cheering sections have a high price tag – for the climate.Brian P. McCullough, Associate Professor of Sport Management and Director, Center for Sport Management and Education and the Laboratory for Sustainability in Sport, Texas A&M UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1966482023-01-05T21:04:59Z2023-01-05T21:04:59ZHere’s how your cup of coffee contributes to climate change<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503125/original/file-20230104-12-54ea61.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=213%2C81%2C4625%2C3172&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Scientists say that wasting coffee and water while making a cup of coffee has a larger carbon footprint than using coffee capsules.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Unsplash)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/here-s-how-your-cup-of-coffee-contributes-to-climate-change" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Global coffee consumption has been increasing steadily <a href="https://coffee-rank.com/world-coffee-consumption-statistics/">for almost 30 years</a>. With a daily average consumption of 2.7 cups of coffee per person, coffee is now Canada’s most popular drink. It is <a href="https://britishcoffeeassociation.org/coffee-consumption/">estimated that around two billion cups of coffee</a> are consumed daily worldwide.</p>
<p>This demand has led to considerable diversification in the ways of preparing coffee as well, including the creation of coffee capsules. <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35605927">The popularity of these capsules has divided the public opinion</a> because this method of preparation, which uses single-use individual packaging, is harmful to the environment.</p>
<p>As researchers working on assessing the environmental impacts of products and services, we often discuss coffee’s carbon footprint. </p>
<p>We decided to study the carbon footprint of several techniques used to prepare coffee at home, and it turns out that coffee capsules aren’t the biggest carbon culprits.</p>
<h2>The life cycle of coffee</h2>
<p>The pollution resulting from the preparation of coffee at home is just the tip of the iceberg. </p>
<p>Before you can enjoy a cup of coffee, <a href="https://www.visualcapitalist.com/from-bean-to-brew-the-coffee-supply-chain/">it goes through several steps, starting</a> from the agricultural production of the coffee beans, their transport, the roasting and grinding of the beans, right up to the heating of the water for the coffee and the washing of the cups it is poured in. </p>
<p>These steps, common to all modes of coffee preparation, consume resources and emit greenhouse gases (GHG). </p>
<p>To adequately compare the carbon footprint of several coffee preparation methods, it is important <a href="https://www.oregon.gov/deq/filterdocs/pef-coffee-fullreport.pdf">to consider their entire life cycle</a>: from the production of coffee, through the manufacture of packaging and machinery, to the preparation of coffee and the waste produced.</p>
<h2>Comparing four coffee preparation methods</h2>
<p>We decided to study this further and conducted an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.12487">extensive literature review</a> on the subject. We then measured the carbon footprint of coffee by comparing four methods of preparing 280 millilitres of coffee, namely:</p>
<p>1) Traditional filter coffee (25 grams of coffee) </p>
<p>2) Encapsulated filter coffee (14 grams of coffee) </p>
<p>3) Brewed coffee (French press) (17 grams of coffee)</p>
<p>4) <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2009.04.011">Soluble coffee</a> (12 grams of coffee), also known as instant coffee</p>
<p>Our analysis clearly showed that traditional filter coffee has the highest carbon footprint, mainly because a greater quantity of coffee powder is used to produce the amount of coffee. This process also consumes more electricity to heat the water and keep it warm. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503215/original/file-20230105-24-1xo0se.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A bar chart showing carbon footprint across the life cycle of coffee preparation of different coffee forms and brewing methods" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503215/original/file-20230105-24-1xo0se.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503215/original/file-20230105-24-1xo0se.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503215/original/file-20230105-24-1xo0se.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503215/original/file-20230105-24-1xo0se.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503215/original/file-20230105-24-1xo0se.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503215/original/file-20230105-24-1xo0se.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503215/original/file-20230105-24-1xo0se.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The carbon footprint generated across the life cycle of coffee, preparation of different coffee forms and brewing methods.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Luciano Rodrigues Viana). Author provided.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When consumers use the recommended amounts of coffee and water, soluble coffee appears to be the most environmentally friendly option. This is due to the low amount of soluble coffee used per cup, the kettle’s lower electricity consumption compared to a coffee maker and the absence of organic waste to be treated.</p>
<p>On the other hand, when consumers use a 20 per cent surplus of coffee and heat twice the water needed (which is often the case), coffee capsules seem to be the best option. Why? Because the capsules allow you to optimize the amount of coffee and water per consumption.</p>
<p>Compared to traditional filter coffee, drinking a capsule filter coffee (280 ml) saves between 11 and 13 grams of coffee. Producing 11 grams of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/geo2.96">Arabica coffee in Brazil</a> emits about <a href="https://ecoinvent.org/the-ecoinvent-database/">59 grams of CO2e</a> (CO2 equivalent). This value is much higher than the 27 grams of CO2e emitted for manufacturing of coffee capsules and sending the generated waste to a landfill. These figures give an idea of the importance of avoiding overusing and wasting coffee.</p>
<h2>Coffee production</h2>
<p>Regardless of the type of coffee preparation, coffee production is the most GHG-emitting phase. It contributed to around 40 per cent to 80 per cent of the total emission. There are many reasons for this.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A coffee plantation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503164/original/file-20230105-64877-jn7odg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503164/original/file-20230105-64877-jn7odg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503164/original/file-20230105-64877-jn7odg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503164/original/file-20230105-64877-jn7odg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503164/original/file-20230105-64877-jn7odg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503164/original/file-20230105-64877-jn7odg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503164/original/file-20230105-64877-jn7odg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The process of coffee production is a major contributor of coffee’s carbon footprint because of the intensive irrigation, fertilization systems and pesticides adopted.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Moises Castillo)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.coffeehabitat.com/2006/02/what_is_shade_g/">The coffee plant</a> is a small stunted tree or shrub that was traditionally grown in the shade of the forest canopy. The modernization of the sector led to the transformation of many coffee plantations into vast fields that were fully exposed to the sun. This added the need for intensive irrigation, fertilization systems and the use of pesticides.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1065/lca2006.01.230">This mechanization, irrigation and use of nitrous oxide-emitting fertilizers</a> — the production of which requires large quantities of natural gas — greatly contribute to coffee’s carbon footprint.</p>
<h2>Reducing coffee’s carbon footprint</h2>
<p>At the consumer level, beyond reducing coffee consumption, avoiding wasting coffee and water is the most effective way to reduce the carbon footprint of traditional, brewed and soluble coffees.</p>
<p>Coffee capsules avoid the overuse of coffee and water. However, the convenience of capsule machines can lead consumers to double their coffee consumption, thus making this environmental advantage redundant. Consumers should also be aware of the capsule recycling options in the city where they live to avoid it getting sent to a landfill instead of a recycling facility. Better yet, they should switch to <a href="https://www.capsme.fr/">reusable capsules</a>.</p>
<p>If you live in a province or country with carbon-intensive electricity production, not using the coffee maker’s hot plate and rinsing the cup with cold water can help reduce carbon footprint. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2009.04.011">The electricity</a> used to wash a cup of coffee in Alberta, a <a href="https://www.cer-rec.gc.ca/en/data-analysis/energy-commodities/electricity/report/canadas-renewable-power/provinces/renewable-power-canada-alberta.html">high-carbon electricity production province</a>, emits more carbon (29 grams CO2e) than producing a coffee capsule and sending it to landfill (27 grams CO2e). In Québec, <a href="https://www.cer-rec.gc.ca/en/data-analysis/energy-commodities/electricity/report/canadas-renewable-power/provinces/renewable-power-canada-quebec.html">thanks to hydroelectricity</a>, washing your cup in a dishwasher has a negligible impact (0.7 grams of CO2e per cup). </p>
<p>By the way, don’t forget to fill your dishwasher!</p>
<h2>Shared responsibilities</h2>
<p>Limiting your contribution to climate change requires an adapted diet, and coffee is no exception. Choosing a mode of coffee preparation that emits less GHGs and moderating your consumption are part of the solution.</p>
<p>However, more than half of the carbon footprint of coffee comes from the steps taken by coffee producers and suppliers. They must take <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11027-013-9467-x">action to reduce the environmental and social impacts of coffee production</a>. </p>
<p>Our research reveals that assessments based on a life cycle analysis, or the holistic vision, of products like coffee make it possible to challenge our intuitive reasoning, which is sometimes misleading. So instead of avoiding products based on speculation, we need to take a holistic look at our own consumption habits. Change begins at home.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196648/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Luciano Rodrigues Viana receives funding from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jean-François Boucher receives funding from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charles Marty and Pierre-Luc Dessureault do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Coffee capsules aren’t the biggest carbon culprits. It’s better to use a capsule than to waste coffee and water.Luciano Rodrigues Viana, Doctorant en sciences de l'environnement, Département des sciences fondamentales, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC)Charles Marty, Adjunct professor, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC)Jean-François Boucher, Professeur, Eco-consulting, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC)Pierre-Luc Dessureault, Assistant researcher, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1938222022-12-14T21:35:01Z2022-12-14T21:35:01ZCan sending fewer emails or emptying your inbox really help fight climate change?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501113/original/file-20221214-13666-5pwq8e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=54%2C131%2C5121%2C3748&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Using electricity to manually delete emails can actually have a greater carbon impact than simply storing them.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Unsplash)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The massive carbon footprint left behind by emails has been widely discussed by the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/environmental-working-from-home-green-1.5997250">media</a>, but most of the time these discussions are exaggerated. </p>
<p>According to Agnès Pannier-Runacher, the <a href="https://twitter.com/AgnesRunacher/status/1529025579386867712">French minister of energy transition</a>, reducing the number of emails that are sent and deleting them would reduce the individual carbon footprint. News stories have voiced these ideas as well.</p>
<p>In a recently <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2022.09.025">published paper</a>, we found that some iconic digital activities, such as sending email, contribute marginally to the annual carbon footprint of information and communication technology users. </p>
<p>As researchers working on the environmental impacts of our actions, we believe it is important to dispel this myth, which has persisted for several years, so that we can focus on curbing the bigger sources of carbon footprints.</p>
<h2>The carbon impact of emails</h2>
<p>The idea that sending less email would reduce a significant amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) was popularized by Mike Berners-Lee’s book <a href="https://howbadarebananas.com/"><em>How Bad Are Bananas? The Carbon Footprint of Everything</em></a>. </p>
<p>The book mentions that a <a href="https://www.pawprint.eco/eco-blog/carbon-footprint-email">person’s average annual email usage produces between three to 40 kilograms of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases or Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (CO2e)</a>, which is the equivalent of driving between 16 to 206 kilometres in a small petrol car. These figures were picked up by several media outlets around the world, which helped to reinforce this idea. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two hands typing on a laptop." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501132/original/file-20221214-14933-cj9xs2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501132/original/file-20221214-14933-cj9xs2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501132/original/file-20221214-14933-cj9xs2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501132/original/file-20221214-14933-cj9xs2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501132/original/file-20221214-14933-cj9xs2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501132/original/file-20221214-14933-cj9xs2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501132/original/file-20221214-14933-cj9xs2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Quantifying the carbon footprint of sending emails, or any other digital service, is not an easy task.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Unsplash)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Carbon values, as seen in Berners-Lee’s book, have varied from <a href="https://unpointcinq.ca/agir/carbonoscope-1-5-calculer-empreinte-carbone-au-bureau/">0.3 to 50 grams of CO2e</a> per email. But these numbers are constantly changing and seem minute when compared to the carbon footprints of the so-called solutions. </p>
<p>Quantifying the carbon footprint of sending emails, or any other digital service, is not an easy task. The results depend heavily on the assumptions made and the data used. And the energy efficiency of data transmission and storage is constantly improving.</p>
<h2>Can sending fewer emails or deleting them really help?</h2>
<p>So, what would happen if we decided to send drastically fewer emails or delete emails that are no longer useful? Apart from freeing up some space in the servers that host them, there is no evidence that we could substantially reduce the energy consumption of digital infrastructure. Here is why:</p>
<ol>
<li><p><a href="https://www.carbontrust.com/our-work-and-impact/guides-reports-and-tools/carbon-impact-of-video-streaming">Digital data storage and transmission systems operate 24/7</a>, with a more or less constant base load of energy, even when not in use. Regardless of whether the email is sent or not, networks would use about the same amount of energy.</p></li>
<li><p>An incredible number of spam emails (<a href="https://dataprot.net/statistics/spam-statistics/">122 billion in 2022</a>) and genuine emails (22 billion) are sent every day. While these numbers seem alarming, email exchanges represent <a href="https://www.sami.eco/post/empreinte-carbone-email">only one per cent</a> of Internet traffic. In comparison, <a href="https://www.fiercevideo.com/video/video-will-account-for-82-all-internet-traffic-by-2022-cisco-says#:%7E:text=According%20to%20the%20company's%20newest,connections%20will%20be%20video%20capable">video streaming services account for about 82 per cent of internet traffic</a> and could increase further in the coming years.</p></li>
<li><p>Knowing that 85 per cent of email traffic is actually spam, sending fewer emails at the individual level would have a limited influence on decreasing the amount of email traffic on the web.</p></li>
<li><p>Regardless of whether an email is sent or not, our computers and routers are always on. Electricity consumption associated with electronic devices, therefore, would remain more or less always the same. Very rarely do we turn on a computer just to send an email.</p></li>
<li><p>Impacts that are associated with the use of data centres and transmission networks are extremely low. To give you an idea, driving a kilometre in a compact car emits as much CO2e as the electricity that is used to transmit and store 3,500 emails of five MB. The electricity needed to heat a cup of tea in a kettle consumes as much electricity as transferring and storing about 1,500 emails of one MB.</p></li>
<li><p>Deleting 1,000 emails would have a carbon benefit of about five grams CO2e. However, the impact of using a laptop for 30 minutes (to delete these emails) emits 28 grams of CO2e in <a href="https://www.cer-rec.gc.ca/en/data-analysis/energy-markets/provincial-territorial-energy-profiles/provincial-territorial-energy-profiles-alberta.html">provinces like Alberta that use high-carbon electricity</a>. In Québec, where the <a href="https://www.quebec.ca/en/government/policies-orientations/plan-green-economy/challenges-to-be-met#:%7E:text=Qu%C3%A9bec's%20electricity%20production%20sector%20has,99.8%25%20renewable%2C%20mainly%20hydropower.">electricity production sector has one of the lowest carbon footprints</a>, this figure amounts to about five grams of CO2e. So, manually deleting emails can actually have a greater carbon impact than simply storing them, since you spend more time using the computer.</p></li>
</ol>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A router" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501143/original/file-20221214-15254-f7lpo7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501143/original/file-20221214-15254-f7lpo7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501143/original/file-20221214-15254-f7lpo7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501143/original/file-20221214-15254-f7lpo7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501143/original/file-20221214-15254-f7lpo7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501143/original/file-20221214-15254-f7lpo7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501143/original/file-20221214-15254-f7lpo7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Electricity consumption associated with electronic devices remain more or less the same because our computers and routers are often left on.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Unsplash)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Reducing the carbon impact of our email use?</h2>
<p>In order to quantify the carbon footprint of an email, it is necessary to take into account all of the steps that are involved in its life cycle, ranging from writing to receiving and reading emails, to saving or archiving them.</p>
<p>Overall, the carbon footprint of emails is mainly associated with the manufacturing of electronic devices that are used to write and read them. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1288015223799058433"}"></div></p>
<p>The actual use of the devices becomes more important, and may even be more important than manufacturing, because the electricity that is used to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2022.09.025">power these devices is produced mainly from fossil fuels</a>.</p>
<p>The best way to reduce the carbon footprint of email is to buy fewer electronic products, retain these devices for as long as possible and use ones that consume less electricity.</p>
<p>Send emails when you need to or when you think the recipients will appreciate your message, even if it consists of just a simple thank you. Delete your emails if you want to save storage space, find what you are looking for more rapidly, or many other good reasons besides saving the planet.</p>
<p><em>Daria Marchenko, Founder of the Ecoist Club, also contributed to this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193822/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Luciano Rodrigues Viana received funding from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jean-François Boucher received funding from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mohamed Cheriet does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Digital activities, like sending emails, contribute marginally to the annual carbon footprint of information and communication technology users.Luciano Rodrigues Viana, Doctorant en sciences de l'environnement, Département des sciences fondamentales, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC)Jean-François Boucher, Professeur, Eco-consulting, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC)Mohamed Cheriet, Professor, Engineering Department, École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1944262022-11-17T21:07:33Z2022-11-17T21:07:33ZFIFA World Cup: With climate change, will there still be a soccer World Cup in 2100?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/495130/original/file-20221114-18-bkw748.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=15%2C45%2C5021%2C3307&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The 2022 FIFA World Cup, beginning on Nov. 20, will be held in Qatar.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many major sports gatherings have been rocked by extreme weather events in recent years. A <a href="https://www.rugbyworldcup.com/2019/news/505639/typhoon-hagibis%20-les-matches-affectes">typhoon forced the postponement of several matches</a> during the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/06/sports/Australian-Open-fire.html">The air became unbreathable during the 2020 Australian Tennis Open</a> because of bush fires. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/oct/16/tokyo-olympics-marathon-switched-north-sapporo-cooler-climate-athletics">The Olympic Marathon was relocated</a> further north to escape the oppressive heat in Tokyo. And the situation is similar for the <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/01/21/1074872876/could-the-world-become-too-warm-to-hold-winter-olympics">Winter Olympics, whose future is uncertain</a>.</p>
<p>The soccer world won’t be spared.</p>
<p>Beginning on Nov. 20, the best national teams, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/worldcup/fifa-world-cup-japan-friendly-chris-jones-1.6654673">including Canada’s</a>, will gather in Qatar to compete in the 22<sup>th</sup> edition of the soccer World Cup. For the first time in its history, the event – which has been the target of <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/lgbtq-fans-world-cup-fear-1.6645662">social and environmental criticism</a> – will be held at the end of autumn due to the high temperatures that affect the country during the summer, and which could affect the health of spectators and athletes.</p>
<p>Will there still be a soccer World Cup in 2100? What impact is pollution having on player performance? Will we have to choose between our love of soccer and the fight against climate change?</p>
<p>As researchers in physical activity sciences, we are proposing to shed some light on the impacts of climate change on the future of soccer.</p>
<h2>Soccer: Victim of, or contributor to climate change?</h2>
<p>The combination of historical data and current emission scenarios reveals that rising sea levels, intensified heat waves, increased risk of <a href="https://e360.yale.edu/features/the-age-of-megafires-the-world-hits-a-climate-tipping-point">megafires</a>, floods and deteriorating air quality <a href="https://www.rapidtransition.org/resources/playing-against-the-clock/">all pose major threats to both amateur and professional soccer</a>. However, soccer is not just a victim of climate change. It is also a significant contributor to it, as demonstrated by the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959652619312181?via%3Dihub">annual carbon footprint of Premier League (English Football Championship) players, estimated at 29 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent</a> – and that is just for the travel entailed.</p>
<p>This is nearly three times the annual carbon footprint of UK citizens, and far exceeds the <a href="https://en.2tonnes.org">global target of two tonnes per person</a>, set to meet the commitments of the Paris Agreement (COP21).</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485611/original/file-20220920-3560-c12wfn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485611/original/file-20220920-3560-c12wfn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485611/original/file-20220920-3560-c12wfn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485611/original/file-20220920-3560-c12wfn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485611/original/file-20220920-3560-c12wfn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485611/original/file-20220920-3560-c12wfn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485611/original/file-20220920-3560-c12wfn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Interruption of a match in Brazil due to fire, 2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">YouTube screenshot</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Heat, weather and flooding: What are the impacts on the practice?</h2>
<p>In the short term, the concerns are mainly about <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17430437.2021.1984426">low air quality and heat</a>, which could <a href="https://wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/wcc.760">affect the health of spectators, sports workers and athletes, as well as their performance</a>. Some sports associations such as <a href="https://www.mlssoccer.com/">Major League Soccer (MLS)</a> or <a href="https://albertasoccer.com/">Alberta Soccer</a> in Canada have already established safety thresholds to regulate holding events <a href="https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/how-mls-measures-and-manages-extreme-heat-conditions-matches#:%7E:text=If%20the%20WBGT%20temperature%20reads,is%20safe%20to%20do%20so">during hot weather events</a> and <a href="https://albertasoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Alberta-Soccer-Air-Quality-Monitoring-Guidelines-November-2016.pdf">pollution peaks</a>.</p>
<p>Since it is estimated that these conditions will become more frequent in the near future (the <a href="https://climateatlas.ca/map/canada/plus30_2060_85#lat=52.04&lng=-108.1&z=9">mercury is expected to exceed 30°C</a> on more than 50 days per year in several Canadian cities, including Montreal and Toronto, by 2050-2080), it is possible to estimate a greater number of postponements and cancellations of practices and games. There is also the potential impact of fires on infrastructure and the deterioration of natural grass fields due to drought and summer watering restrictions. These fields could also be affected by increasingly harsh winter conditions.</p>
<p>A 2013 study in England already reported a <a href="https://www.sportandrecreation.org.uk/news/industry/alliance-survey-bad-weather-and-lack-of-facil">loss of three to 13 weeks of use of some natural pitches due to more intense rainfall</a>. In the longer term, rising oceans and more frequent flooding are likely to pose a temporary or permanent threat to clubs’ operations, jeopardizing the future of soccer in some parts of the world if greenhouse gas emissions <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/">follow their current trend</a>.</p>
<p>According to a report based on modelling, by 2016 the <a href="https://www.rapidtransition.org/resources/playing-against-the-clock/">stadiums of 23 professional teams in England could face partial or total flooding in every season</a>. Such events have already occurred in <a href="https://www.espn.com/soccer/league-name/story/2076173/headline">Montpellier, France (2014)</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/dec/09/carlisle-united-community-rallies-round-flood-hit-football-club">Carlisle, England (2015)</a>, rendering the grounds unusable for several months.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491937/original/file-20221026-4274-y3g6d9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Men carrying boards wade on a flooded soccer field" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491937/original/file-20221026-4274-y3g6d9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491937/original/file-20221026-4274-y3g6d9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491937/original/file-20221026-4274-y3g6d9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491937/original/file-20221026-4274-y3g6d9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491937/original/file-20221026-4274-y3g6d9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491937/original/file-20221026-4274-y3g6d9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491937/original/file-20221026-4274-y3g6d9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Men carrying boards wade on a flooded soccer field in the Jukyty neighbourhood of Asuncion, Paraguay, on April 4, 2019. More than 20,000 people were evacuated after torrential rains caused extensive flooding.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In some contexts, synthetic fields offer an interesting alternative when a natural field is unavailable or too degraded; moreover, they can be used over a longer period of the year. However, data show that these fields are prone to create heat islands, with a <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1754337114553692">surface temperature that can be 12°C to 22°C higher than the temperature of a natural grass</a>. This level of temperature increases the heat stress experienced by athletes and, therefore, augments risks to their health and performance. The same is true for the health of referees, coaches and audience members.</p>
<h2>Impacts on player health and performance</h2>
<p>Air pollution negatively impacts the <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/24/12928">quantity and quality of passes</a>, <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/24/12928">distance travelled and high intensity efforts</a> of professional players. Peak pollution could even drastically reduce the number of goals scored during games.</p>
<p>There is empirical evidence observed for several decades that the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1612197X.2014.888245">chances of winning are higher when playing at home</a>. In a polluted city, this increase is <a href="https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/jospec/v23y2022i3p277-300.html">accentuated when the opposing team comes from a less polluted city</a>. Why? Because the host team is used to a higher average air pollution, and therefore its performance is less affected.</p>
<p>Heat and dehydration can also affect the performance of the athletes and, consequently, the quality of the games and the show offered. Yet, <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/49/9/609">analyses of the 2014 World Cup matches in Brazil suggest</a> that the quality of play was not affected by the oppressive heat. However, these results should be interpreted cautiously, as <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19807723/">elite athletes generally tolerate heat and dehydration better than untrained individuals</a>.</p>
<p>So, it is possible that amateur athletes, or older players with specific health conditions will experience more adverse health and effects on their performance.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491752/original/file-20221025-14-pypzme.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="women's soccer team in Japan -- players drink water" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491752/original/file-20221025-14-pypzme.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491752/original/file-20221025-14-pypzme.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491752/original/file-20221025-14-pypzme.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491752/original/file-20221025-14-pypzme.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491752/original/file-20221025-14-pypzme.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491752/original/file-20221025-14-pypzme.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491752/original/file-20221025-14-pypzme.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Japan’s women’s soccer team players hydrate during training on the eve of the match between Japan and New Zealand at the Women’s World Cup in Bochum, Germany, on June 26, 2011.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Martin Meissner)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Urgent need for change: From reactive to proactive</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/03/forest-green-rovers-coffee-kit-soccer-recycled-sustainability/">With its scale and ability to reach a wide audience, soccer can play a major role in the current ecological transition</a>, including through climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies.</p>
<p>The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was one of the first international sports federations to commit to the <a href="https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/Sports_for_Climate_Action_Declaration_and_Framework.pdf">United Nations Sports for Climate Action Framework</a>, by developing <a href="https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/a6e93d3f1e33b09/original/FIFA-Climate-Strategy.pdf">its own climate strategy</a>. Concretely, FIFA has established several initiatives that revolve around three main objectives: 1) making soccer ready for climate action; 2) protecting iconic tournaments from the negative impacts of climate change; and 3) ensuring the development of resilient soccer.</p>
<p>In the wake of this, in order to mitigate the impacts of climate change on its operations, the soccer world will very quickly have to move from a reactive to a proactive approach, by putting actions in place:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><a href="https://www.rapidtransition.org/resources/sweat-not-oil-why-sports-should-drop-advertising-and-sponsorship-from-high-carbon-polluters/">Banning fossil fuel sponsors</a>;</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.est.1c03422">Reorganizing competitions</a> to reduce travel for athletes and fans by requiring national professional leagues to recommend <a href="https://www.euractiv.com/section/health-consumers/news/french-football-clubs-revisit-transport-modes-in-bid-to-reduce-carbon-footprint/">train travel</a> for short trips;</p></li>
<li><p>Encouraging <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2019.02.016">public or shared transportation</a> for fans and amateur athletes;</p></li>
<li><p>Reducing the vulnerability of players and spectators by adapting regulations and activities: More frequent training breaks, possibility of making more changes during games, revision of the rules concerning the duration of games in case of a tie, moving games to cooler times of the day.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Since soccer is not the only sport that is both a victim of, and an actor in climate change, urgent action by the sporting community as a whole is needed to continue to play safely and enjoyably.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194426/count.gif" alt="La Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thomas Deshayes received funding from the Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Santé for his PhD.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bernard Paquito has received funding from the Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Santé and the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation.</span></em></p>As the FIFA World Cup kicks off, researchers take a look at the impact of climate change on the future of soccer.Thomas Deshayes, Chercheur postdoctoral en sciences de l'activité physique, Université de Sherbrooke Paquito Bernard, Professeur, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1936922022-11-16T13:11:01Z2022-11-16T13:11:01ZRenewable energy will need more investment, or Africa will stay dependent on fossil fuels<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494853/original/file-20221111-17-1d7elu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4994%2C3267&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Hydro-power is not sustainable to meet sub-Saharan Africa's energy needs and must be supported wind, solar and geothemal.
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/photo-taken-on-april-12-2012-shows-the-masinga-hydro-news-photo/145520563?phrase=hydropower%20in%20Kenya&adppopup=true">Photo by Tony Karumbu/AFP.</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Renewable energy technologies such as solar photovoltaics and onshore wind power can help sub-Saharan Africa meet its energy requirements from sources that have lower emissions than fossil fuels.</p>
<p>Currently, the sub-continent gets 0.01% of its energy supply from wind, 2% from solar, about 4%-5% from geothermal, 17% from hydro and <a href="https://www.un.org/osaa/sites/www.un.org.osaa/files/concept_note_-_energy_innovation_and_technologies_for_universal_access_and_just_transition_for_africa_9june2022.pdf">77% from fossil fuel</a>. About <a href="https://www.c2es.org/content/international-emissions/#:%7E:text=Globally%2C%20the%20primary%20sources%20of,72%20percent%20of%20all%20emissions.">70%</a> of current greenhouse gas emissions come from the global energy sector.</p>
<p>Clearly sub-Saharan Africa needs to reduce its dependency on fossil fuels. Even though its greenhouse gas emissions account for only <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.PC?locations=ZG">3%</a> of global emissions, the region’s reliance could be the source of a future carbon tsunami. This would happen if energy demand skyrocketed on the back of rapid <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-the-8-billionth-person-is-born-heres-how-africa-will-shape-the-future-of-the-planets-population-194067">population growth</a>, <a href="https://www.afdb.org/en/documents/africas-urbanisation-dynamics-2022-economic-power-africas-cities">urbanisation</a> and economic growth. </p>
<p>There are many who advocate a move to hydropower, which currently accounts for <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/climate-impacts-on-african-hydropower">17%</a> of the continent’s energy mix. And the trend is to increase its share.</p>
<iframe title="Africa’s installed energy mixes " aria-label="Pie Chart" id="datawrapper-chart-3T99M" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/3T99M/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;" height="520" data-external="1" width="100%"></iframe>
<p>But I believe there are dangers in this. Based on <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2225-1154/9/5/84">my research</a>, and the work of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0973082621000259">others</a>, I would argue that there are three reasons to suggest that African countries need to diversify their energy sources and avoid a very high dependency on hydropower.</p>
<p>The main concern is climate uncertainty. This could potentially pose a threat to hydropower generation. Generating energy from hydropower depends on precipitation and temperature patterns. Heavier rains and more prolonged droughts will affect the ability of countries to produce hydropower. </p>
<p>The second concern is related: developing hydropower facilities takes decades. It’s hard to plan that far ahead when future climate conditions are uncertain. </p>
<p>And the third difficulty is that the region is vulnerable to water shortages and is already experiencing the consequences. </p>
<p>These obstacles call for energy diversification to solar, wind and geothermal. The cost of solar has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/23/most-new-wind-solar-projects-cheaper-than-coal-report">declined</a> by 85% and that of wind by 56% in the last year alone. This makes these technologies much more affordable and accessible. </p>
<p>But policy barriers currently impede the development, use and application of these low-carbon energy technologies. </p>
<h2>Dangers ahead for hydropower</h2>
<p>The intensity and duration of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589915522000128">precipitation</a> varies across sub-Saharan countries and regions. For example, in southern Africa in 2020 precipitation was less than the historical average for the region. </p>
<p>In other areas, <a href="https://elibrary.worldbank.org/doi/pdf/10.1596/978-1-4648-0466-3_ch3">wetter weather</a> is expected through to 2100. In the eastern African region this period is projected to be wetter and accompanied by heavy rains. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nclimate3273">Variability between years</a> and heavy floods can make managing dams difficult, and disrupt the electricity supply.</p>
<p>This has already been seen to happen. Heavy floods and wreckage have disrupted the operation of dams in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi. In the case of Malawi, this significantly reduced hydropower <a href="https://disasterphilanthropy.org/">generation capacity in 2019</a>).</p>
<p>Variations between years in rainfall and evaporation affect stream flow and determine hydropower generation output. </p>
<iframe title="Hydropower generation in TWh " aria-label="Interactive line chart" id="datawrapper-chart-gu9hW" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/gu9hW/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;" height="405" data-external="1" width="100%"></iframe>
<p>As shown in this image, the historical data in selected sub-Saharan countries demonstrate the variations in <a href="https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/data-tools/hydropower-data-explorer">hydropower generation</a>. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which carries 42% of the global hydropower potential, shows fluctuations in production. For instance, the DRC’s <a href="https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/data-tools/hydropower-data-explorer">hydropower generation capacity</a> was reduced 6.1 TWh in 1996 to 4.7 TWh in 1998 (a fall of 22.95%). The hydropower generation capacity in Nigeria was reduced by 27.4% from 2007 to 2009 and 42.3% from 2005 to 2009. Similarly, Kenyan hydropower generation capacity was reduced by 60.6% from 1998 to 2000 and 37.14% from 2008 to 2009. These variations are significant.</p>
<p>The second challenge is that hydropower plants are long-term projects which could last up to 100 years. Under uncertainty about future potential impacts of climate change, it will be risky to build hydropower plants. They might not be sustainable.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-energy-crisis-is-pressuring-countries-climate-plans-while-some-race-to-renewables-others-see-wealth-in-natural-gas-but-drilling-benefits-may-be-short-lived-193944">How the energy crisis is pressuring countries' climate plans – while some race to renewables, others see wealth in natural gas, but drilling benefits may be short-lived</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Thirdly, competition for water between industries, energy, domestic use and irrigation is expected to increase the stress on water availability. Water scarcity would be a critical impediment to supplying Africa’s growing energy needs with hydropower. According to projections, the African population will reach <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1224205/forecast-of-the-total-population-of-africa/#:%7E:text=According%20to%20the%20forecast%2C%20Africa's,nearly%202.5%20billion%20by%202050">2.5 billion</a> in 2050. An additional 1.7 billion people will need energy, water and food. As of 2021, out of a 1.4 billion population, 600 million people do not have access to <a href="https://www.irena.org/publications/2022/Jan/Renewable-Energy-Market-Analysis-Africa">electricity</a>. The same water is used for drinking water, industry, irrigation and food production. This implies that water stress comes from a multitude of directions, including climate change and socioeconomic development.</p>
<p>More than <a href="https://www.opml.co.uk/blog/the-impact-of-climate-change-on-hydropower-in-africa">80%</a> of the energy generation from hydropower comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda and Zambia. In my view, all should diversify their energy sources to other renewable to make their energy supply climate resilient and sustainable.</p>
<h2>Barriers to solar and wind</h2>
<p>Policy <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0960148100001865">studies</a> have identified five major barriers to the development and uptake of solar and wind technologies in sub-Saharan Africa:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>institutional – lack of coordination between different organisations </p></li>
<li><p>technical – a trained labour force and expertise to implement, regulate and monitor technologies</p></li>
<li><p>socio-cultural – low acceptance of the technologies </p></li>
<li><p>financial barriers – lack of subsidies and incentives, and fragmented taxation </p></li>
<li><p>regulatory – weak bodies and problems with land leasing processes. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>These barriers are intertwined and reinforce one another. For example, the lack of an independent regulatory system creates unpredictability and deters investment. </p>
<h2>Next steps</h2>
<p>There is a tremendous chasm between aspirations and policy execution in Africa. To close this gap the following steps need to be taken.</p>
<p>Policy barriers must be lifted and there needs to be better co-ordination between the various players. </p>
<p>Secondly, financial limitations must be eased. The debt-laden climate finance structure must be revised. <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-finance-for-africa-the-key-challenges-and-what-needs-to-be-done-about-them-194150">Climate finance</a> for the most vulnerable countries is scarce and the application process is long and cumbersome when the opportunity arises. Climate finance should be need-based and practical to help the most vulnerable and bridge the chasm between financial need and supply. </p>
<p>In addition, development banks and donors need to champion and invest in the areas considered risky by private businesses. They need to lay the business foundations to make the sector attractive for private investments. In return, governments must adopt <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africa-is-hooked-on-fossil-fuels-how-it-got-here-and-how-it-can-get-out-193750">policies and strategies</a> that encourage private investments in solar, wind, and geothermal technologies.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193692/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Abay Yimere does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>To address Africa’s heavy dependence on fossil fuels and hydropower, there is a need for investment in renewable energy sources like wind and solar.Abay Yimere, Postdoctoral Scholar in International Environment and Resource Policy, The Fletcher School, Tufts UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1900422022-09-12T16:41:25Z2022-09-12T16:41:25ZEating insects can be good for the planet – Europeans should eat more of them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483233/original/file-20220907-12-8zpp52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Farmed insects are common in many parts of the world today.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/farmed-crickets-food-asian-1962297640">nippich somsaard/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Insects are a nutritious food source that can be produced more sustainably than conventional livestock. While eating insects is common in many world regions, in western cultures it is more likely met with disgust. </p>
<p>The consumption of insects has slowly increased as the benefits become <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210420-the-protein-rich-superfood-most-%20europeans-wont-eat">widely discussed</a>. More than 2,000 edible species have been identified. But would incorporating insects into our diets really reduce the environmental footprint of food production, and can this be achieved?</p>
<p>Insects are high in fat, protein and nutrients. This varies between species and lifecycle stage, however the protein content of insects is frequently <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/mnfr.201200735">40%-60%</a>. Insects also provide all of the essential amino acids required for human nutrition. </p>
<p>Adult crickets are <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/mnfr.201200735">65%</a> protein by weight, which is higher than both beef (<a href="https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/746760/nutrients">23%</a>) and tofu (<a href="https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/172476/nutrients">8%</a>). Insects are also high in minerals such as copper, iron and magnesium. It is therefore of no surprise that insects are consumed by humans in <a href="https://theconversation.com/eating-insects-has-long-made-sense-in-africa-the-world-must-catch-up-70419">many world regions</a> today.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A sale of a portion of insects at a market stall in front of multiple trays of edible insects." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483040/original/file-20220906-12-38msdx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483040/original/file-20220906-12-38msdx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483040/original/file-20220906-12-38msdx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483040/original/file-20220906-12-38msdx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483040/original/file-20220906-12-38msdx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483040/original/file-20220906-12-38msdx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483040/original/file-20220906-12-38msdx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Edible insects sold at a market in Thailand.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/focus-on-fried-insect-streetfood-unidentify-1571142052">Tanawat Chantradilokrat/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Insects are far more efficient at converting their feed into energy than conventional livestock. Adult crickets and mealworm larvae need <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2017.04.001">5–10 times</a> less feed than cattle to produce the same weight gain. Insects are also cold-blooded, so do not use their metabolism to heat or cool themselves, further reducing energy and food use. </p>
<p>A larger proportion of the animal can also be eaten compared with conventional livestock. Only <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/i3461e/i3461e.pdf">45%</a> of the cattle and <a href="https://www.fao.org/publications/card/en/c/5b311af3-e5c4-5fc3-95d2-7200bf77061e/">55%</a> of a chicken is consumed on average. For insects, the whole larva and <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/i3253e/i3253e.pdf">80%</a> of an adult cricket can be eaten. Insects also reproduce more rapidly than vertebrates, with many generations possible in a year.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483231/original/file-20220907-14-n40bjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A swarm of insects being farmed in a large enclosure." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483231/original/file-20220907-14-n40bjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483231/original/file-20220907-14-n40bjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483231/original/file-20220907-14-n40bjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483231/original/file-20220907-14-n40bjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483231/original/file-20220907-14-n40bjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483231/original/file-20220907-14-n40bjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483231/original/file-20220907-14-n40bjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Insect cultivation requires a fraction of the land, energy and water that conventional livestock farming demands.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/edible-locusts-cultivated-asia-2033120873">outwalk/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To provide the same nutritional value, insect cultivation therefore uses a fraction of the land, energy and water used for conventional livestock farming. </p>
<p>To produce a kilogram of protein, mealworm larvae emit <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0051145">14kg of CO₂eq</a>, far less than the <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216">500kg of CO₂eq</a> emitted on average in beef production. To produce the same amount of protein, mealworm larvae cultivation uses <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211912417300056?via%3Dihub">70 times less agricultural land</a> than beef.</p>
<h2>Plant-based foods should not be ignored</h2>
<p>All food production has environmental costs. However, there is substantial variation within this. Beef, for example, produces <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216">100 times</a> more greenhouse gas emissions than pea production. </p>
<p>Insect cultivation typically falls between these extremes. While it can be less environmentally damaging than the production of meat, it has a higher footprint than most plant-based foods. Per kilogram of protein, pea production emits only <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216">4kg of CO₂eq</a>, while tofu requires roughly <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211912417300056?via%3Dihub">half the agricultural land</a> needed for insect cultivation. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483244/original/file-20220907-12-kzuqe7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Peas being processed in a large tray." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483244/original/file-20220907-12-kzuqe7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483244/original/file-20220907-12-kzuqe7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483244/original/file-20220907-12-kzuqe7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483244/original/file-20220907-12-kzuqe7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483244/original/file-20220907-12-kzuqe7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483244/original/file-20220907-12-kzuqe7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/483244/original/file-20220907-12-kzuqe7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The environmental footprint of plant-based foods is often lower than for edible insect cultivation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/working-process-production-green-peas-on-565877839">Max Maier/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Whether insects are a climate-friendly (or -friendlier) food will depend on what the insect protein replaces. If insect-based foods are used to substitute conventional meat, this could provide important gains. However, large gains could also be achieved if plant-based alternatives are adopted.</p>
<p>Dietary changes can radically alter the environmental footprint of consumers. The average diet in the US uses <a href="https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/publications/human-appropriation-of-land-for-food-the-role-of-diet">more than 10 times</a> more land per person than the average Indian diet, primarily due to the types of food consumed. </p>
<h2>Using insects in a circular food system</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.fao.org/3/i2697e/i2697e.pdf">1.3 billion tonnes</a> of food produced for human consumption is wasted each year. Another area in which insects could prove valuable is in the production of food or animal feed from <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5637/5/3/81">food by-products or food waste</a>. Black soldier flies reared on by-products such as <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41538-019-0047-7">almond hulls</a> can be converted into feed for livestock or farmed seafood. </p>
<p>However, feeding insects <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13165-020-00290-7">organic by-products</a> requires careful management to avoid risks of chemical and microbial contamination. Several insect species are able to <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/8/8/288">digest certain contaminants</a>, but there is potential for harmful bioaccumulation. Manure and catering waste are therefore <a href="https://ipiff.org/insects-eu-legislation/">prohibited</a> as a feed for farmed insects in Europe.</p>
<h2>Will Europeans eat more insects?</h2>
<p>The market for edible insects in Europe and America is growing. Despite only <a href="https://www.beuc.eu/sites/default/files/publications/beuc-x-2020-042_consumers_and_the_transition_to_sustainable_food.pdf">10.3% of Europeans</a> stating they would be willing to replace meat with insects, the edible insect market is projected to reach <a href="https://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/5233747/edible-insects-market-by-product-whole-insect">US$4.63bn (£3.36bn) by 2027</a>. </p>
<p>The acceptability of foods can change over time. Tomatoes were regarded as poisonous in Britain and dismissed for over 200 years. Lobsters, now an expensive delicacy, were formerly so abundant in the US that they were served to workers and prisoners and were commonly used as fertiliser and fish bait. </p>
<p>Lobster only became fashionable to eat after the mid-18th century. Since then its popularity has surged, with the global lobster market expected to reach <a href="https://www.imarcgroup.com/lobster-market#:%7E:text=The%20global%20lobster%20market%20reached,9.94%25%20during%202022%2D2027.">US$11.1bn</a> (£9.7bn) by 2027.</p>
<p>Insect consumption in Europe may also become normalised. Western consumers are showing an increasing willingness to consume <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0950329315001044">processed insect-based foods</a>. Incorporating insects into familiar food items such as flour represents one way of improving their acceptance.</p>
<p>Edible insects are not the sole solution to achieve a more sustainable food system. However, they do provide a nutritious and more sustainable substitute to conventional meat. Their production, flexibility and diversity means they are likely to play an increasing part in a more circular food system.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190042/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Alexander does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Eating insects can carry a much lower environmental footprint than conventional meat. Should western cultures be incorporating more of them into their diets?Peter Alexander, Senior lecturer in Global Food Security, The University of EdinburghLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1841702022-08-03T02:30:32Z2022-08-03T02:30:32ZHealth care is responsible for 7% of our carbon emissions, and there are safe and easy ways this can be reduced<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471983/original/file-20220701-5543-8mpbs6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C6%2C4493%2C2984&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>While we think of carbon emissions coming from manufacturing and agriculture, we don’t often think of those arising from health care. In Australia, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2542519617301808">health care is responsible for 7%</a> of national carbon emissions, while globally, health care is responsible for <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2542519620301212">4.4% of emissions</a>. </p>
<p>If global health care was a country, it would be the world’s <a href="https://noharm-global.org/sites/default/files/documents-files/5961/HealthCaresClimateFootprint_092319.pdf">fifth largest emitter</a>. The warming resulting from health-care’s emissions in turn cause harm to human health through heatwaves, wildfires, increased mosquito-borne infectious diseases, and undernutrition due to drought and <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/article/S0140-6736(21)01787-6/fulltext">lower fish stock</a>. </p>
<p>In short, treating patients indirectly causes human harm, at odds with the mission of health-care professionals to increase the duration and quality of patients’ lives.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/five-ways-hospitals-can-reduce-their-environmental-footprint-90390">Five ways hospitals can reduce their environmental footprint</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What can health care do about its emissions?</h2>
<p>Analysis of the UK’s National Health Service’s (NHS) emissions shows nearly <a href="https://www.england.nhs.uk/greenernhs/wp-content/uploads/sites/51/2020/10/delivering-a-net-zero-national-health-service.pdf">45% of its carbon emissions</a> come from purchasing equipment and medicines, with only 10% coming from the electricity and gas needed to run hospitals and other health services. </p>
<p>We don’t currently have detailed data on Australia’s health sector emissions, but assuming we are similar to the UK, reducing emissions will require changes in how health-care professionals provide care. </p>
<p>There are things health care can start doing today to reduce its emissions, while not harming patients. </p>
<p><strong>Scans</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666606522000748">Our latest research</a> has shown one MRI scan has a carbon footprint of 17.5kg CO₂ equivalent, which is the same as driving a car 145km, while one CT scan has a footprint of 9.2kg CO₂ equivalent, or driving 76km. </p>
<p>These are significantly higher than X-rays (0.76kg CO₂ equivalent, 6km) and ultrasound (0.53kg CO₂ equivalent, 4km).</p>
<p>While imaging is important in providing information to doctors in many circumstances, it is often unnecessary. For example, studies have shown 36-40% of imaging for lower back pain, and 34-62% of CT scans for lung blood clots are <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/imj.14346">unnecessary</a>. These scans were assessed as unnecessary because they were given to patients who didn’t need them according to evidence-based guidelines or decision rules. Such scans offer little or no benefit to patients, may result in harm, and waste resources.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471984/original/file-20220701-12-yg3v1j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Man going into CT scanner" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471984/original/file-20220701-12-yg3v1j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471984/original/file-20220701-12-yg3v1j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471984/original/file-20220701-12-yg3v1j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471984/original/file-20220701-12-yg3v1j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471984/original/file-20220701-12-yg3v1j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471984/original/file-20220701-12-yg3v1j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471984/original/file-20220701-12-yg3v1j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One CT scan is the equivalent of driving 76km, and many are unnecessary.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are also opportunities to use low-carbon scans instead of high-carbon, such as using ultrasound rather than <a href="https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD009020.pub2/full">MRI for shoulder scans</a>. </p>
<p>Other research we have performed has shown the impact of blood tests is between 49-116g CO₂ equivalent per test. While individually small, more than 70 million blood tests are performed annually in Australia. Like imaging, <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0078962">studies</a> have shown 12-44% of blood tests are unnecessary. </p>
<p>Some specific tests are ordered unnecessarily at even higher rates. For example, it’s estimated over 75% of Vitamin D blood tests in Australia are <a href="https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/3/e024797">unnecessary</a>, with this costing Medicare more than $80 million annually.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/health-care-has-a-huge-environmental-footprint-which-then-harms-health-this-is-a-matter-of-ethics-142651">Health care has a huge environmental footprint, which then harms health. This is a matter of ethics</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p><strong>Gases</strong></p>
<p>Around 5% of the UK’s healthcare emissions come from anaesthetic gases and metered dose inhalers, commonly called puffers, used for the treatment of asthma. </p>
<p>Anaesthetists can use the clinically equivalent anaesthetic gas sevoflurane (144kg CO₂ equivalent per kilogram) instead of <a href="https://www.bjanaesthesia.org/article/S0007-0912(20)31023-0/fulltext">desflurane</a> (2,540kg CO₂ equivalent per kilogram). </p>
<p>Nitrous oxide or laughing gas (265kg CO₂ equivalent) can be excluded from general anaesthesia without harm, and there are calls for a reduction in its use as acute pain relief for <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/377/bmj.o1301.full">childbirth</a> due to its high levels of emissions.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/warning-over-climate-threat-from-laughing-gas-used-during-childbirth-20220529-p5apci.html">Midwives</a>, however, have cautioned mothers should not be be made to feel guilty about their pain relief choices, and suggested hospitals could introduce nitrous destruction systems to allow its ongoing use.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471985/original/file-20220701-15-7m8d0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Woman with a gas mask inhaling with assistance from nurse" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471985/original/file-20220701-15-7m8d0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471985/original/file-20220701-15-7m8d0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471985/original/file-20220701-15-7m8d0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471985/original/file-20220701-15-7m8d0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471985/original/file-20220701-15-7m8d0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471985/original/file-20220701-15-7m8d0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471985/original/file-20220701-15-7m8d0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nitrous oxide is often used during childbirth.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Metered dose inhalers contain hydrofluorocarbons, which are potent greenhouse gases. A patient using a preventer and a bronchodilator to stop wheezing can be safely moved from using metered dose inhaler delivery to the same drugs, delivered using a dry-powder inhaler in most cases. </p>
<p>This shift reduces their annual carbon footprint from <a href="https://thorax.bmj.com/content/75/1/82.abstract">439kg to 17kg CO₂ equivalent</a>. Importantly, it can be achieved without changing health outcomes for patients, as can be seen with 90% of inhalers in Scandinavian countries now being <a href="https://thorax.bmj.com/content/early/2022/01/12/thoraxjnl-2021-218088.abstract">dry-powder</a>, with no change in respiratory outcomes.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-mitigation-the-greatest-public-health-opportunity-of-our-time-43549">Climate mitigation – the greatest public health opportunity of our time</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Getting health care to net-zero</h2>
<p>These are only a few examples of how health care can reduce its emissions while not compromising patient safety or quality of care – either by moving from high carbon to low carbon alternatives, or by reducing unnecessary testing or treatments. </p>
<p>The Australian Medical Association and Doctors for the Environment have called for Australian healthcare to be net-zero <a href="https://www.ama.com.au/media/joint-statement-medical-professionals-call-emissions-reduction-health-care">by 2040</a>, with an interim emission target of an 80% reduction by 2030. </p>
<p>This can be achieved, but will require both ongoing education of current and future health-care professionals about low-carbon care, and targeted commitments by individual health-care organisations, and federal and state health departments.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/184170/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Scott McAlister receives funding from the NHMRC. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexandra Barratt receives funding from NHMRC and is a member of the NSW Greens. </span></em></p>If global health care was a country, it would be the world’s fifth largest emitter. There are simple ways health care can reduce its emissions, starting with scans and gases.Scott McAlister, Research Fellow, The University of MelbourneAlexandra Barratt, Professor of Public Health, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1838142022-07-06T19:56:23Z2022-07-06T19:56:23ZCOVID changed travel writing. Maybe that’s not a bad thing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472244/original/file-20220704-12-4ilal7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=143%2C95%2C7705%2C5164&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Swiss conceptual artists Frank and Patrik Riklin pose in their 'idyllic' hillside suite, part of the project 'Null Stern Hotel' ('zero star hotel'), in Saillon, Switzerland. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Jean-Christophe Bott</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 2019, international travel and tourism was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/jul/01/global-tourism-hits-record-highs-but-who-goes-where-on-holiday">a $1.7 trillion global industry</a>. A new cruise ship with space for <a href="https://www.cruisecritic.com.au/articles.cfm?ID=3443">6600 passengers</a> was launched. And dog friendly holidays in the French Riviera were seen as the next big <a href="https://www.luxurytravelmag.com.au/article/these-are-2019s-top-travel-trends/">tourism trend</a>. </p>
<p>On social media, travel influencers and bloggers vied for commissions and audiences, while the more “old school” travel writers and journalists continued to report from all corners of the world. The grey area around ethics and sponsorship was murkier than ever – and there was of course, an environmental cost: from the carbon footprint of frequent flyers to the social and cultural impact on <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/04/29/the-airbnb-invasion-of-barcelona">over-touristed destinations</a>. </p>
<p>Still, the industry was booming. </p>
<p>Then, along came COVID-19. </p>
<p>For more than a decade, I had made my living as a travel writer, contributing to publications in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the US and the UK. I’d visited 72 countries on the job. I’d paddled a kayak across the <a href="https://www.traveller.com.au/alone-in-the-isle-seat-auou">Tongan Vava’u archipelago</a>; written about Myanmar’s temples and <a href="https://meanjin.com.au/essays/borderlands/">Tijuana and the Mexican border</a>; been hosted on numerous “famils” (familiarisation tours) around the world and met the woman who would become my wife in a Buenos Aires bar while on an assignment to write about the <a href="https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/history-culture/2012/07/the-new-australians-of-south-america/">“New Australia”</a> utopian colony in Paraguay. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472241/original/file-20220704-23-wxvscg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472241/original/file-20220704-23-wxvscg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472241/original/file-20220704-23-wxvscg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472241/original/file-20220704-23-wxvscg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472241/original/file-20220704-23-wxvscg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472241/original/file-20220704-23-wxvscg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472241/original/file-20220704-23-wxvscg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472241/original/file-20220704-23-wxvscg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The author in Sikkim, north-east India in 2008.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nick Stubbs</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When news of a virus emerged from a wet market in Wuhan in early 2020, all that stopped. As I slipped into the first of many lockdowns, initially I mourned for the travel life I couldn’t live anymore. Once upon a time, my editor would ring on a Friday afternoon to ask if I could fly to Vietnam on Tuesday. </p>
<p>But during my enforced time at home, I realised the travel writing genre I was part of needed some serious re-thinking. The warning signs of a hubristic industry were hard to ignore. In 2019, for instance, the relaxation of regulations for climbers of Mount Everest had resulted in a <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/mount-everest-chaos-at-the-top-of-the-world">“conga line in the death zone above 8,000 metres”</a> of people waiting to summit the peak. </p>
<p>The image went viral.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1131506158781517824"}"></div></p>
<p>The notion that the genre might have finally reached its nadir after thousands of years of exploration, exploitation and discovery is not a new concept. But the sheer volume of <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/7-ways-travel-listicles-are-ruining-travel-writing_b_5a2d9455e4b04e0bc8f3b5f2">listicles</a>, luxury reviews and Instagram journeys masquerading now as legitimate travel writing is alarming. </p>
<p>Pandemic enforced lockdowns got me thinking about how the experience of immobility wasn’t unique. Wars, pandemics, shipwrecks and even prison walls had prevented others from travelling in the past, yet many still managed to travel internally through their own <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Creative-and-Non-fiction-Writing-during-Isolation-and-Confinement-Imaginative/Stubbs/p/book/9781032152516">isolation</a>. </p>
<p>More than two and a half years later, I now believe that despite the angst borne from lockdowns and closed borders around the world, this pause due to COVID-19 has ultimately been a good thing for travel writing – and perhaps the broader travel industry. It has allowed us time to stop and take stock.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472247/original/file-20220704-16-jjj9gi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472247/original/file-20220704-16-jjj9gi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472247/original/file-20220704-16-jjj9gi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472247/original/file-20220704-16-jjj9gi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472247/original/file-20220704-16-jjj9gi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472247/original/file-20220704-16-jjj9gi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472247/original/file-20220704-16-jjj9gi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472247/original/file-20220704-16-jjj9gi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Travel influencers are everywhere.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A history of re-thinking and re-imagining</h2>
<p>Travel writing is one of the most ancient and enduring literary forms. Evidence of the travels of Harkuf, an emissary to the pharaohs, is written on tombs in ancient Egypt. Indigenous Dreaming stories <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/cambridge-history-of-travel-writing/introduction/4CF0BFA6F65A206D5CEBCC35F3AD2A5F">“spoken or sung or depicted in visual art”</a> date back thousands of years.</p>
<p>As Nandini Das and Tim Youngs write in <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40165322-the-cambridge-history-of-travel-writing?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=UjsOKwdkaJ&rank=1">The Cambridge History of Travel Writing</a>, </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Travel narratives have existed for millennia: so long as people have journeyed, they have told stories about their travels.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In a literary sense, travel writing can be traced to the emergence of commerce and movable print technology in Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. It went on to flourish in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanticism">Romantic Era</a> of travel and exploration, from the late 18th century to mid 1850s. </p>
<p>During this time, western travel writing was embroiled in the colonial project. The journals of Imperialist explorers such as William Dampier and James Cook were enormously popular, along with writers such as Richard Francis Burton and James Bruce who recounted their fantastical journeys to the public back home as they sought to conquer lands for “the mother country”. </p>
<p>Travel writing continued to shift, changing forms and attracting different readers. The Grand Tour pilgrimage increased in popularity. Mark Twain’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Innocents_Abroad">The Innocents Abroad</a> (1869), about his voyage on the “Quaker City” cruise ship, was the century’s best selling travel book. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472237/original/file-20220704-24-nb36a9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472237/original/file-20220704-24-nb36a9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472237/original/file-20220704-24-nb36a9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=934&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472237/original/file-20220704-24-nb36a9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=934&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472237/original/file-20220704-24-nb36a9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=934&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472237/original/file-20220704-24-nb36a9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1173&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472237/original/file-20220704-24-nb36a9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1173&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472237/original/file-20220704-24-nb36a9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1173&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>“People have been asking the melodramatic question, ‘Is travel writing dead?’ for the best part of a century,” notes contemporary travel writing scholar Dr Tim Hannigan. </p>
<p>During the first world war, British travel literature seemed a requiem for a distant era. The war, observes cultural and literary historian Paul Fussell, “effectively restricted private travel abroad. The main travelers were the hapless soldiery shipped to France and Belgium and Italy and Mesapotamia”. </p>
<p>But the end of the war, in fact, led to a significant re-thinking of the travel writing genre. Borders reopened, new countries and alliances had formed. People emerged from the isolation of war curious to see, hear and experience what this “new world” was like.</p>
<p>This golden era of travel writing in the 1920s and 1930s was chracterised by a new inquisitiveness. Modernist and experimental styles emerged and, as literary scholar Peter Hulme writes,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>travel writing could become the basis of a writing career – perhaps because those who had just fought a war felt the need for the kind of direct engagement with social and political issues that travel writing and journalism seemed to offer.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470477/original/file-20220623-51812-glb7u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470477/original/file-20220623-51812-glb7u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470477/original/file-20220623-51812-glb7u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=875&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470477/original/file-20220623-51812-glb7u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=875&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470477/original/file-20220623-51812-glb7u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=875&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470477/original/file-20220623-51812-glb7u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1100&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470477/original/file-20220623-51812-glb7u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1100&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470477/original/file-20220623-51812-glb7u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1100&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>After the second world war, travel writing became more questioning of authority, with a quality of restlessness. Notable works incuded Eric Newby’s <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/118141.A_Short_Walk_in_the_Hindu_Kush?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=GkIrolRIA7&rank=1">A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush</a> (1958), Wilfred Thesiger’s <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/825419.Arabian_Sands?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=Js8VkeOG67&rank=1">Arabian Sands</a> (1959) and John Steinbeck’s <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33617956-travels-with-charlie-in-search-of-america?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=fwygWdt9sG&rank=1">Travels with Charlie in Search of America</a> (1962), about his three-month journey across the US.</p>
<p>In 1960s and 1970s, new books showed how travel writing could evolve again while still displaying the “wonder” central to its appeal: presenting narrated inner journeys, adventure and a richness and complexity that had not been seen before. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470479/original/file-20220623-51718-oi9vua.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470479/original/file-20220623-51718-oi9vua.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470479/original/file-20220623-51718-oi9vua.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=920&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470479/original/file-20220623-51718-oi9vua.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=920&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470479/original/file-20220623-51718-oi9vua.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=920&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470479/original/file-20220623-51718-oi9vua.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1156&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470479/original/file-20220623-51718-oi9vua.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1156&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470479/original/file-20220623-51718-oi9vua.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1156&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
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<p>Peter Matthiessen’s <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/764165.The_Snow_Leopard?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=MfFMUKo9xS&rank=1">The Snow Leopard</a>, Robyn Davidson’s <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/78895.Tracks?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=Ky3md4s1Az&rank=4">Tracks</a> and even the creative voice embodied in Bruce Chatwin’s controversial In Patagonia, (a postmodern blending of fact and fiction), showed how travel narratives, rather than offering insular and superior perspectives, could be subjective, creative and affecting. </p>
<p>This new era of travel writing post-COVID, I’d argue, has the potential to adapt to a changing world in the same way the genre changed after the first world war. </p>
<p>Environmental concerns, Indigenous presence, awareness of the “other” (and of being the “other”) and an acknowledgement of benefits and pitfalls of technology are all central concerns to travel writing today.</p>
<h2>New ways to think about travel writing</h2>
<p>The work of South Australian based literary academic Stephen Muecke is an interesting example of a different kind of travel writing. Muecke has had a long career of adopting co-authorship practices, embracing Indigenous and diverse voices within his narratives to highlight that there is always more than one perspective worth considering.</p>
<p>In Muecke’s <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13645145.2007.9634820">Gulaga Story</a> he writes about an ascent of Gulaga, or Mount Dromedary in southern NSW. Local Yuin Aboriginal people take him up the mountain to learn aspects of its Dreaming story and the totem of the Yuin. </p>
<p>Muecke’s writing includes interviews with anthropologist Debbie Rose and sections of Captain Cook’s journal, from when Cook travelled along the NSW coast in the 18th Century. The latter offers a contrast between Cook’s initial surface appraisal and the deeper meanings of Indigenous knowledge.</p>
<p>Muecke writes:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Travelling whitefellas tend to think in lines, like the roads they eventually build and drive along, like the chronological histories they tell. Yet there are alternatives: being multiply present, for instance, as if by landing up in someone else’s somewhere, you still remain somewhere else. Maybe other people have been where you come from too; you arrive in their place and they tell you they have seen your city or your country.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-country-have-you-walked-why-all-australians-should-walk-an-indigenous-heritage-trail-162519">'What country have you walked?' Why all Australians should walk an Indigenous heritage trail</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472239/original/file-20220704-26-4ilal7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472239/original/file-20220704-26-4ilal7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472239/original/file-20220704-26-4ilal7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=855&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472239/original/file-20220704-26-4ilal7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=855&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472239/original/file-20220704-26-4ilal7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=855&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472239/original/file-20220704-26-4ilal7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1075&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472239/original/file-20220704-26-4ilal7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1075&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472239/original/file-20220704-26-4ilal7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1075&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>In <a href="https://re-press.org/books/reading-the-country/">Reading the Country: Introduction to nomadology</a>, Moroccan artist Krim Benterrak, Muecke and Nyigina man Paddy Roe demonstrate how a co-authored, overlapping narrative from three distinct perspectives allows us to appreciate travelling along the northwest coast of Western Australia. Paddy Roe was from Roebuck plains, an area once inhabited by Indigenous people, though now it is silent except for the vast cattle studs.</p>
<p>The three examine the different meanings of place in Roebuck Plains and how different people see and interpret it. Central to the book is the premise that their method is not <em>the</em> way of interpreting Roebuck plains. Their nomadology is an “archive of fragments”.</p>
<p>Another more reflexive writer of place, English author James Attlee, wrote the book Isolarion while merely travelling along his street in Oxford. His is an example of <a href="https://theconversation.com/great-time-to-try-travel-writing-from-the-home-134664">vertical travel</a>, where the travel writer focuses on the close-at-hand details, rather than far-off experiences.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470481/original/file-20220623-51865-m2624w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470481/original/file-20220623-51865-m2624w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470481/original/file-20220623-51865-m2624w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=917&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470481/original/file-20220623-51865-m2624w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=917&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470481/original/file-20220623-51865-m2624w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=917&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470481/original/file-20220623-51865-m2624w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1152&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470481/original/file-20220623-51865-m2624w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1152&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470481/original/file-20220623-51865-m2624w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1152&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Such books acknowledge the fraught nature of the travel writer who arrives from a western country or culture to write about other people and their sophisticated cultures. Attlee’s book is also a creative response to travel writing’s long carbon footprint.</p>
<p>Will it still be appropriate for future travel writers to fly around the world on junkets (“famils”) racking up carbon miles amid a climate crisis? I think writers and editors should “go local” much more, as Attlee has, not just from an environmental point of view, but also from an authenticity standpoint. Of course, that doesn’t mean writers can only write about their home cities and states, but it would be a logical place to start. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472250/original/file-20220704-22-4ilal7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472250/original/file-20220704-22-4ilal7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472250/original/file-20220704-22-4ilal7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472250/original/file-20220704-22-4ilal7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472250/original/file-20220704-22-4ilal7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472250/original/file-20220704-22-4ilal7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472250/original/file-20220704-22-4ilal7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472250/original/file-20220704-22-4ilal7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Should travel writers avoid carbon miles too?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Armando Franca/AP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The new travel writing – 5 of the best</h2>
<p>Encouragingly, there are already many recent examples of travel writing that can further engage readers in this shift. Here are 5 of the best.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The Granta travel edition: <a href="https://granta.com/products/granta-157-should-we-have-stayed-at-home-new-travel-writing/">Should we have stayed at home?</a> presents a diversity of modern voices and stories, ranging from Taipei alleyways, the history of postcards and an Indigenous perspective of South Australia.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/zero-altitude-helen-coffey-book-review-emma-gregg/">Zero Altitude: How I learned to fly less and travel more</a> by Helen Coffey explores the world without stepping inside a plane. Coffey uses bikes, boats, trains and cars to seek unexpected adventures while deliberately addressing the impact of how we travel.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.bradtguides.com/product/minarets-in-the-mountains-1-pb/">Minarets in the Mountains: A Journey into Muslim Europe</a> by Tharik Hussain explores a “different” Europe to that of most travel writing of the past. Hussain travels through Eastern Europe with his wife and daughters encountering the region’s unique Islamic history and culture.</p></li>
<li><p>Cal Flyn’s <a href="https://www.calflyn.com/nonfiction-books/islands-of-abandonment-nature-rebounding-post-human-landscape">Islands of Abandonment</a> doesn’t look for places or experiences that might fit in a top listicle of summer holiday experiences. Instead, it explores the “ecology and psychology” of forgotten places such as uninhabited Scottish islands and abandoned streets in Detroit to observe the slow movement of nature when unchecked by human intervention.</p></li>
<li><p>In <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/au/wanderland-9781472951953/">Wanderland</a> Jini Reddy, an award winning travel writer who was born in Britain, raised in Canada, and whose parents are of Indian descent, decides to “take her soul for a stroll” away from office job in London in search of wonder, meaning and magical travelling on a random journey of inspiration “ricocheting” through Britain. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>In much the same way that we’ve adopted little things like keep cups at coffee shops, and an awareness of ethical food and fashion choices, it is much easier today to find travel writing challenging the genre and exploring diverse perspectives. We’ll just have to do this writing alongside the Instagram influencers. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>Correction: this article originally stated that travel writer Jini Reddy was raised in South Africa, attended university in Canada and is of Indian heritage, however Jini has informed us that a more accurate description is that she was born in Britain, raised in Canada, and her parents are of Indian descent, so we have amended the text to reflect this.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183814/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ben Stubbs does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>After visiting 72 countries as a travel writer, COVID forced Ben Stubbs to reassess the genre in an age of climate change and mass tourism. It’s time, he says, for a new kind of travel writing.Ben Stubbs, Senior Lecturer, UniSA Creative, University of South AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1835662022-05-27T10:57:17Z2022-05-27T10:57:17ZThe ‘carbon footprint’ was co-opted by fossil fuel companies to shift climate blame – here’s how it can serve us again<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465492/original/file-20220526-17-asq0gd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5991%2C3988&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Carbon footprints have a complex history.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bare-feet-walking-along-forest-path-1643903440">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>“You can’t manage what you can’t measure”, according to a famous business <a href="https://blogs.worldbank.org/education/you-can-t-manage-what-you-don-t-measure">mantra</a> often attributed to management guru <a href="https://www.bl.uk/people/peter-drucker">Peter Drucker</a>. This can help explain why carbon emissions are under more scrutiny than ever as we ramp up our efforts to avoid the <a href="https://theconversation.com/theres-no-end-to-the-damage-humans-can-wreak-on-the-climate-this-is-how-bad-its-likely-to-get-166031">catastrophic effects</a> of climate change. </p>
<p>For example, the “<a href="https://theconversation.com/carbon-footprints-are-hard-to-understand-heres-what-you-need-to-know-144317">carbon footprint</a>” – a way of measuring the amount of <a href="https://theconversation.com/countries-may-be-under-reporting-their-greenhouse-gas-emissions-thats-why-accurate-monitoring-is-crucial-171645">greenhouse gases</a> (mostly carbon) emitted during a product’s creation, use and disposal – has become a household term. With a plethora of carbon footprint calculators now available online, you can find data on the footprint of <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1233409/carbon-footprint-of-cars-by-type-uk/">cars</a>, <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/globalassets/documents/post/postpn_383-carbon-footprint-electricity-generation.pdf">electricity generation</a>, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10098-021-02180-2">education</a>, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uks-carbon-footprint">countries</a>, and just about <a href="https://mossy.earth/guides/lifestyle/pet-carbon-footprint">anything else</a> besides. </p>
<p>Although this might seem to benefit our efforts to tread more lightly on the planet, the reality is less clear. Last year, an article in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/aug/23/big-oil-coined-carbon-footprints-to-blame-us-for-their-greed-keep-them-on-the-hook">the Guardian</a> highlighted the influence oil companies have had on the carbon footprint’s growing popularity. Its main message was that the idea of measuring personal carbon footprints – in other words, calculating the emissions we’re responsible for as individuals – was originally promoted by oil giant BP to shift the burden of action (and blame) from fossil fuel companies to consumers.</p>
<p>In many respects, this tactic worked. Free carbon footprinting tools became common, and people even began to rank them for ease, accuracy and reliability. For example, <a href="https://footprint.wwf.org.uk/#/">this calculator</a> by the World Wildlife Fund tells me my footprint in tonnes, as well as which parts of my lifestyle are the main contributors to it.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A colourful chart showing different factors contributing to total carbon footprint" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465494/original/file-20220526-24-rqlu22.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465494/original/file-20220526-24-rqlu22.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465494/original/file-20220526-24-rqlu22.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465494/original/file-20220526-24-rqlu22.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465494/original/file-20220526-24-rqlu22.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465494/original/file-20220526-24-rqlu22.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465494/original/file-20220526-24-rqlu22.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Here’s the breakdown of my own carbon footprint.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://footprint.wwf.org.uk/#/">WWF</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Compared with others in the UK, my footprint is relatively low. This is partly because I work in sustainability for a living, so I keep my heating down low, I use <a href="https://theconversation.com/solar-panels-on-half-the-worlds-roofs-could-meet-its-entire-electricity-demand-new-research-169302">solar panels</a> to generate electricity and I try to walk as much as I can. In global terms, however, my footprint is pretty big, and to avoid the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-carbon-capture-and-storage-is-key-to-avoiding-the-worst-effects-of-the-climate-emergency-171454">worst effects</a> of climate change it needs to get smaller quickly. At least, that’s the <a href="https://europa.eu/youth/get-involved/sustainable-development/how-reduce-my-carbon-footprint_en">message</a> being sent by many NGOs, politicians and climate activists – among others.</p>
<p>Here lies the <a href="https://mashable.com/feature/carbon-footprint-pr-campaign-sham">problem</a>: it may no longer be in anyone’s personal capacity to make changes great enough to reverse the damage already done. In a world where just <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/jul/10/100-fossil-fuel-companies-investors-responsible-71-global-emissions-cdp-study-climate-change">100 companies</a> are responsible for 71% of global emissions, we need a <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/a8884d9f-d9d8-4b88-b34b-c59c97408629">total overhaul</a> of the carbon-intensive systems around us instead. </p>
<h2>History</h2>
<p>The idea of the carbon footprint developed from an environmental management methodology known as the “<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/life-cycle-assessment#:%7E:text=Life%20cycle%20assessment%20is%20a,manufacture%2C%20distribution%2C%20and%20use.">life cycle assessment</a>”. It was one of the first ways to measure the impact of a product or system over its entire lifetime, helping companies manage their spending on materials and energy. </p>
<p>Tools like these were first developed by companies such as <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/climate-change-accounting-for-companies-looms-with-all-its-complexities-11628608324">Coca-Cola</a> in the 1970s to help them <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0961953415001609">cut energy use</a> during the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Arab-oil-embargo">energy crisis</a> caused by unrest in the Middle East. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A person in Coca Cola uniform stands in front of drinks crates on a truck" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465522/original/file-20220526-22-w3wrth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465522/original/file-20220526-22-w3wrth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465522/original/file-20220526-22-w3wrth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465522/original/file-20220526-22-w3wrth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465522/original/file-20220526-22-w3wrth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465522/original/file-20220526-22-w3wrth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465522/original/file-20220526-22-w3wrth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Coca Cola have used carbon footprinting to calculate their energy emissions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/minsk-belarus-nov-2018-lorry-boxes-1227141541">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But as <a href="https://theconversation.com/minutes-on-the-lips-a-lifetime-on-the-tip-the-coffee-cup-waste-mountain-63164">disposable products</a> became more common, and <a href="https://mashable.com/feature/carbon-footprint-pr-campaign-sham">litter</a> became an associated, growing problem, company marketing began to focus on using footprints to allocate personal responsibility rather than taking <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/environment/archives/waste/eu_guidance/introduction.html">producer responsibility</a> – an approach more common in <a href="https://www.oecd.org/env/tools-evaluation/extendedproducerresponsibility.htm#:%7E:text=Extended%20Producer%20Responsibility%20(EPR)%20is,disposal%20of%20post%2Dconsumer%20products.">EU legislation</a> and policy.</p>
<p>These tools aren’t bad in themselves. In fact, <a href="https://www.lifecycleinitiative.org/starting-life-cycle-thinking/what-is-life-cycle-thinking/">life cycle thinking</a> is key to making good design choices when building technology. It’s increasingly used to help ensure we don’t create <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jiec.12954">new problems</a> while trying to solve climate change through innovation. The problem is that when these tools are applied to individuals, it takes the heat off the companies who have been driving the climate crisis for <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200618-climate-change-who-is-to-blame-and-why-does-it-matter">decades</a>.</p>
<h2>Making change</h2>
<p>Instead, these tools can be used to develop <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13068-021-01911-3">more sustainable fuels</a> by identifying and addressing “<a href="https://www.bsigroup.com/LocalFiles/en-GB/standards/BSI-sustainability-guide-product-carbon-footprinting-for-beginners-UK-EN.pdf">hot spots</a>” of carbon emission in the fuel production process. They can also be used to show where we can most effectively reduce the negative effects of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652621003838?casa_token=fBtmxdFcWb4AAAAA:o-WKT3EhAkyFXNpZBMe-rrVdWd3MzdFhb7zBWuYrphiLOvMAYpWASkIrJlQ1lsLKLN31CHQ">plastic</a> proliferation through increasing recycling in those areas.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A sign reading 'Best gift to our children is a lower carbon footprint'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465518/original/file-20220526-22-b3khp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465518/original/file-20220526-22-b3khp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465518/original/file-20220526-22-b3khp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465518/original/file-20220526-22-b3khp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465518/original/file-20220526-22-b3khp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465518/original/file-20220526-22-b3khp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465518/original/file-20220526-22-b3khp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Individuals, businesses and companies all have identifiable carbon footprints.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/doucy/14156474185/in/photostream/">Chris Yakimov/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Carbon footprint analysis can equally be used on global businesses to show where their carbon outputs are really coming from. For example, a <a href="https://qz.com/2166046/googles-real-carbon-footprint-is-hidden-in-its-bank-account/">recent report</a> shows how the footprints of ten of the largest tech companies including Google and PayPal are largely caused by their investments supporting the fossil fuel industry, leading to <a href="https://twitter.com/R_BrooksStand/status/1526568395327561729">calls</a> for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/13/half-of-uk-universities-have-committed-to-divest-from-fossil-fuel">divestment</a>. </p>
<p>Of course, we shouldn’t totally dissociate ourselves from responsibility. Carbon footprints can still be used to assess our own purchase, investment and leisure choices to great effect. But on top of this, carbon footprint calculations should be used by industries and governments to prove they’re making the necessary changes to cut <a href="https://wtsonline.com/embedded-emissions/">embedded emissions</a> and keep more carbon in the ground. Making footprints public could also put financial and legislative pressure on companies and systems with the greatest climate influence. The carbon footprint has real power: let’s aim it where it’ll be most effective.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183566/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marcelle McManus receives funding from UKRI, Innovate UK and BEIS for work in bioenergy, industrial decarbonisation, life cycle assessment and renewable technology research. </span></em></p>The concept of the carbon footprint can do more than just make us feel guilty about the climate cost of our everyday lives.Marcelle McManus, Professor of Energy and Environmental Engineering, University of BathLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1815302022-05-26T13:15:14Z2022-05-26T13:15:14ZClimate change isn’t a priority for Kenyan universities. It should be<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463614/original/file-20220517-6205-7bpy4j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Increased financing will enable universities in Kenya to make climate change activities a central part of curricula and research output.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Peter Cade via GettyImages</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Universities can play a vital role in shaping change in societies. They produce knowledge through research, train future decision makers, and contribute to public awareness of issues. </p>
<p>But not all universities are rising to challenges like this. <a href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajsd/article/view/111117">Studies</a> have established that efforts to integrate sustainable development into African universities’ curricula and their community engagement processes leave something to be desired. Teaching and research don’t always reflect society’s real problems.</p>
<p>Climate change is another area where universities should be identifying and providing solutions. It’s a complex, politicised and global issue which needs informed leadership.</p>
<p>Kenya, for one country, has neglected the integration of climate change into the education system. None of the commissions that have looked into the education system over the years have dealt with this. In his research, Dr Charles Kariuki <a href="https://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/bitstream/handle/123456789/18546/Curriculum%20and%20its%20contribution%20to%20awareness......pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y">noted</a> that Kenya’s education policies treat climate change casually. Hardly any learning about it is taking place at any level. </p>
<p>A 2015 <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279179079_Climate_Change_Knowledge_Gap_in_Education_System_in_Kenya">survey</a> of two public universities in Kenya found that they were yet to incorporate climate-related issues into their programmes. This creates a big gap in the production and dissemination of knowledge on climate change. It also limits climate change mitigation and adaptation within the education sector. </p>
<p>There’s very little in the literature generally on how climate change is represented in Kenyan universities’ curricula, campus activities, institutional governance and community engagement work. Our <a href="https://www.climate-uni.com/_files/ugd/f81108_1fe481d96de94247b5b3a5baab268f33.pdf">working paper</a> sought to fill the gap. </p>
<p>We reviewed the climate change policy environment in the country and the link between national policies and university policies, actions and practices. Our aim was to understand what Kenyan universities were doing to raise awareness and to create capacity to respond to climate change. Responses could include mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning. </p>
<p>Drawing on national and international policy documents, peer-reviewed journal articles and national climate change reports published between 1999 and 2020, we found a gap. Universities in Kenya aren’t receiving enough guidance from the government in responding to the impacts of climate change. This means they’re also not producing outputs, such as research, that could offer guidance to society more broadly.</p>
<h2>From policy to practice</h2>
<p>Kenya has an elaborate policy framework that addresses climate change matters in specific sectors. These include the <a href="https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Kenya-National-Climate-Change-Action-Plan.pdf">National Climate Change Action Plan 2013–2017</a> and the <a href="http://www.environment.go.ke/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/National-Adaptation-Plan-NAP.pdf">Kenya National Adaptation Plan 2015–2030</a>. The various policies draw from global declarations like the <a href="https://legal.un.org/avl/ha/ccc/ccc.html">United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change</a> and the <a href="https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement">Paris Agreement</a>. They are anchored in the constitution and the Kenya’s <a href="https://vision2030.go.ke/">development vision 2030</a>.</p>
<p>The country’s <a href="http://www.environment.go.ke/wp-content/documents/complete%20nccrs%20executive%20brief.pdf">National Climate Change Response Strategy</a> proposes that schools and colleges include climate change information in their curricula and syllabuses. The adaptation plan 2015-2030 also emphasises the need to integrate climate change content into curricula at all levels. </p>
<p>It’s clear therefore that national policies and strategies recognise the potential of university education to solve climate change issues through teaching, research and community service. But universities in Kenya still lag in coming up with or adopting policies to guide climate action at institutional levels. There’s also inadequate teaching and learning in this area. </p>
<h2>Progress</h2>
<p>Kenyan universities have made some efforts in sustainable development. For instance, in 2014 they established the <a href="https://www.kgun.org">Kenya Green University Network</a>. The aim was to promote greening approaches, such as the use of renewable and clean energy, at university campuses. But the results are few. </p>
<p>The private Strathmore University and the public Kenyatta University have the largest solar installations in the region. They generate <a href="https://strathmore.edu/news/towards-a-sustainable-strathmore-university-600-kw-grid-connected-solar-energy-system/">600KW</a>and <a href="https://www.saurenergy.com/solar-energy-news/kenyatta-university-turns-100kw-solar-power-plant">100KW</a> of solar power respectively.</p>
<p>Our review showed that mostly, universities treat sustainability targets, such as carbon emissions reduction, as more of a government requirement than their own ambition. A number of studies we reviewed confirmed that climate change content was treated casually at all levels of the education system. </p>
<h2>The gaps</h2>
<p>Even though there’s an intricate climate change policy framework at the national level, our review found no evidence that policies are carried through to strategies in higher education. They’re not showing up in curricula or in campus greening activities. </p>
<p>Universities in Kenya should be more sensitive to national policies aimed at addressing the effects of climate change. The national government needs to clarify the role universities should play in the governance of climate change affairs. And it should provide related research funding. </p>
<p>Increased financing, which is currently a barrier to research activities, will enable universities in Kenya to make climate change activities a central part of curricula, campus activities, institutional governance and community engagement work. The universities regulatory authority, the <a href="https://www.cue.or.ke/">Commission for University Education</a>, should also include climate action as a criterion in evaluating university programmes. This would motivate action.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/181530/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jackline Nyerere does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Universities in Kenya should be more sensitive to national policies aimed at addressing the effects of climate change.Jackline Nyerere, Senior Lecturer of Educational Leadership and Policy, Kenyatta UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1819222022-05-15T10:44:48Z2022-05-15T10:44:48ZTo reduce corporate emissions, CEOs need to be bold risk takers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462893/original/file-20220512-23-kmtyni.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C24%2C5504%2C3644&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Carbon-emitting companies are significant contributors to the climate crisis.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Climate change is widely recognized as one of the most profound challenges ever to face the human race and life on Earth. Among the different factors identified by climate scientists, greenhouse gas emissions — <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-emissions-data">which have doubled since 1990</a> — are the main contributors to global climate change.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/09/revealed-20-firms-third-carbon-emissions">significant contributors to the climate crisis</a>, carbon-emitting companies are under <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/topics/strategy/impact-and-opportunities-of-climate-change-on-business.html">increasing regulatory and social pressure</a> to reduce their carbon footprints. Long-term climate change results can only be achieved by identifying why certain firms are still emitting <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/climate-change/causes.html">such high amounts of greenhouse gases</a> and addressing those underlying causes.</p>
<p>As a society, we are prone to reactionary, not preventative, approaches when it comes to addressing the environmental harms done by corporations. The Canadian federal government’s proposed <a href="https://thenarwhal.ca/carbon-capture-credit-ipcc/">tax credit for investing in carbon capture, storage and removal</a> is one recent reactionary example. If we want to meet our climate goals, we need to use more preventative approaches.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man sitting at a table with technological equipment on it" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462898/original/file-20220512-20-6krkt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462898/original/file-20220512-20-6krkt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462898/original/file-20220512-20-6krkt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462898/original/file-20220512-20-6krkt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462898/original/file-20220512-20-6krkt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462898/original/file-20220512-20-6krkt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462898/original/file-20220512-20-6krkt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The federal government is a supporter of carbon capture technology, like the foam bioreactor pictured here alongside Carlo Montemagno, the former director of the University of Alberta’s Ingenuity Lab.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Risk taking and climate change</h2>
<p>In a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-021-05031-8">recently published paper</a>, my colleagues and I examined whether a CEO’s risk aversion influenced corporate carbon emissions. Risk aversion is the extent to which CEOs “play it safe” when it comes to decision-making. A risk-averse CEO, for example, will not make risky investments — even if those investments have the potential to be profitable in the long term.</p>
<p>Our research confirmed our initial hypothesis that risk-averse CEOs were more likely to lead firms with higher carbon emissions. They were unwilling to take the bold steps necessary to invest in greener projects to reduce their carbon footprints. Instead, they usually made immoral, yet rational, decisions that prioritized profit over sustainability.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Office building with Maple Leaf logo on the front" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462896/original/file-20220512-14-wig8qc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462896/original/file-20220512-14-wig8qc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462896/original/file-20220512-14-wig8qc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462896/original/file-20220512-14-wig8qc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462896/original/file-20220512-14-wig8qc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462896/original/file-20220512-14-wig8qc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462896/original/file-20220512-14-wig8qc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Maple Leaf Foods president and CEO Michael McCain committed to taking the company carbon neutral in 2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>From an economic perspective, it’s rational for CEOs to invest in sectors that increase carbon emissions, if those sectors make them money. However, investing in those sectors is also immoral because of the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/environmental-indicators/greenhouse-gas-emissions-drivers-impacts.html">detrimental impacts carbon emissions have</a> on the environment and people’s lives.</p>
<p>Ultimately, bold and risk-seeking CEOs are the ones responsible for the drastic changes needed to reduce corporate emissions. For example, Maple Leaf Foods president and CEO Michael McCain <a href="https://www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/business/sylvain-charlebois-behind-maple-leaf-foods-bold-call-to-become-carbon-neutral-374081/">made the bold move take his company carbon neutral</a> in 2019. Other CEOs should follow suit.</p>
<h2>Enticing CEOs with better pay</h2>
<p>CEOs are the strategic leaders of corporations and, often, their pay is the only leverage their companies have on them. Because of this, one of the most effective ways to reduce a firm’s carbon footprint over the long run is to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/12/perspectives/climate-carbon-emissions-ceo-pay/index.html">entice CEOs with monetary compensation</a>.</p>
<p>While there may be <a href="https://financialpost.com/investing/climate-change-the-opportunities-and-risks-for-investors">short-term repercussions for investing in carbon footprint reductions</a>, such as lower profitability, cash depletion or increased debt, this should not impact CEO pay. Instead of punishing CEOs for implementing environmentally friendly policies, they should be compensated. </p>
<p>There is a chance that corporations and investors might have to take the hit in the short-term, but <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinessdevelopmentcouncil/2021/10/04/how-sustainability-can-be-profitable-for-your-business/?sh=5484ae56592a">in the long run it will pay off</a>. Consumers share the same environment as corporations, which means that doing right by the environment results in buy-in from sustainability minded consumers — now the <a href="https://f.hubspotusercontent20.net/hubfs/4783129/An%20EcoWakening_Measuring%20awareness,%20engagement%20and%20action%20for%20nature_FINAL_MAY%202021%20(1).pdf">majority of the consumer base</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man opening an envelope at a desk" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462894/original/file-20220512-21-f7jbk8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462894/original/file-20220512-21-f7jbk8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462894/original/file-20220512-21-f7jbk8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462894/original/file-20220512-21-f7jbk8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462894/original/file-20220512-21-f7jbk8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462894/original/file-20220512-21-f7jbk8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/462894/original/file-20220512-21-f7jbk8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One of the most effective ways to reduce a firm’s carbon footprint over the long run is to entice CEOs with monetary compensation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Similarly, CEOs should be penalized for not achieving certain carbon reduction goals. Naysayers may state that some of those <a href="https://fortune.com/2020/12/03/climate-change-nestle-ceo-net-zero-carbon-emissions/">carbon emissions are not within the control of the CEO</a> and they cannot change it overnight. While this is correct, CEOs can still take steps to lower emissions in the long run, without pay cuts and job losses.</p>
<h2>CEOs need to take risks</h2>
<p>Our findings illustrate that not only are overly risk-averse CEOs hesitant to take steps to reduce carbon emissions, but that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/16/oil-firms-climate-claims-are-greenwashing-study-concludes">carbon-emitting firms use greenwashing</a> to cover up their environmental harms. Greenwashing corporations have large carbon footprints but portray themselves as environmentally friendly to investors.</p>
<p>To effectively reduce carbon emissions, CEOs and their companies must take bold, risky steps, like divesting from current profitable ventures that have higher carbon emissions, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2010.06.064">in favour of investing in green technology</a>, which may or may not succeed.</p>
<p>Policymakers at all levels of government, industry regulators and institutional investors like the <a href="https://www.otpp.com/en-ca/about-us/news-and-insights/2021/ontario-teachers-pension-plan-commits-to-net-zero-emissions-by-2050/">Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan</a> must team up and mandate that corporations provide CEOs with financial compensation for reducing carbon footprints. CEOs will listen carefully when their bread and butter is at stake.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/181922/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ashrafee Tanvir Hossain receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada. </span></em></p>Policymakers, industry regulators and investors must team up to mandate that corporations provide CEOs with financial compensation for reducing carbon footprints.Ashrafee Tanvir Hossain, Associate Professor, Faculty of Business Administration, Memorial University of NewfoundlandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1735532021-12-21T13:20:34Z2021-12-21T13:20:34ZCarbon colonialism must be challenged if we want to make climate progress<p>Assessments of the UN climate conference <a href="https://theconversation.com/glasgow-climate-pact-what-happened-at-cop26-and-what-it-means-for-the-world-podcast-172070">COP26</a>’s success have been mixed, but none have been entirely positive. Achieving the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-paris-agreement-at-5-times-running-out-how-to-get-the-world-back-on-track-to-meet-its-climate-goals-151806">Paris agreement</a>’s target of limiting global warming to <a href="https://theconversation.com/ipcc-says-earth-will-reach-temperature-rise-of-about-1-5-in-around-a-decade-but-limiting-any-global-warming-is-what-matters-most-165397">1.5°C</a> above pre-industrial levels is a goal described by UN secretary general António Guterres as “<a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/11/11/1054772983/antonio-guterres-cop26-climate-change">on life support</a>”, whilst reports in the wake of the conference suggested that the world is on track for “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/09/cop26-sets-course-for-disastrous-heating-of-more-than-24c-says-key-report">disastrous levels</a>” of global warming.</p>
<p>The response in some quarters has been to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-15/climate-activists-call-for-tougher-eu-climate-goal-after-cop26">call for tough new targets</a>, yet as the chief executive of the UK’s <a href="https://www.theccc.org.uk/">Climate Change Committee</a> <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-59489563">noted</a>, this is likely to simply “widen the gap between ambition and delivery”.</p>
<p>This problem cuts to the core of rich nations’ efforts to tackle climate change. The announcement of its sixth <a href="https://www.theccc.org.uk/2021/04/20/sixth-carbon-budget-ccc-lauds-historic-milestone-on-path-to-net-zero-uk/">carbon budget</a> in April 2021, for example, saw the UK commit to reducing carbon emissions by 78% compared to 1990 levels. As the government <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-enshrines-new-target-in-law-to-slash-emissions-by-78-by-2035">claimed</a>, this “sets in law the world’s most ambitious climate change target”.</p>
<p>But these targets will never be able to properly challenge the climate crisis without first tackling the implicit “<a href="https://decolonisegeography.com/blog/2021/11/carbon-colonialism/">carbon colonialism</a>” that underpins the UK’s approach to climate change. Here, carbon is measured according to a two-tier system: rigorously within UK borders and far less carefully outside them. </p>
<p>This approach to the country’s carbon footprint makes little sense in the face of the worldwide problem of climate change. Around <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/mapped-worlds-largest-co2-importers-exporters">22%</a> of global carbon emissions are caused by producing goods, like clothes and electronics, that are actually consumed in a different country. The UK is a notable consumer – in fact, the third highest globally – of “<a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/mapped-worlds-largest-co2-importers-exporters">imported emissions</a>” like these. Nevertheless, climate targets set by the UK government focus on reducing emissions from within the country. </p>
<p>Currently, UK laws regulating emissions only apply to domestically produced products, whilst imported products are subject to <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/850130/Env-reporting-guidance_inc_SECR_31March.pdf">voluntary standards</a> – meaning the companies that make them don’t have to accurately report their emissions. This encourages “<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1462901118307536">outsourcing</a>” of emissions overseas. The dirtiest and most carbon intensive industries, such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/following-a-t-shirt-from-cotton-field-to-landfill-shows-the-true-cost-of-fast-fashion-127363">fast fashion</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-have-reusable-cups-bags-and-bottles-so-why-are-our-buildings-still-single-use-171345">construction</a>, are transplanted to developing countries like India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Cambodia.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/438024/original/file-20211216-19-pd6ffk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/438024/original/file-20211216-19-pd6ffk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=182&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438024/original/file-20211216-19-pd6ffk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=182&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438024/original/file-20211216-19-pd6ffk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=182&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438024/original/file-20211216-19-pd6ffk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=228&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438024/original/file-20211216-19-pd6ffk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=228&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438024/original/file-20211216-19-pd6ffk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=228&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been investigated for exploiting workers and causing environmental damage.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fairphone/35456682034">Fairphone/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>UK companies that wish to appear green can then more easily make claims of “zero deforestation” or “zero waste to landfill” in their supply chains – even if they’re <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/12/major-clothing-brands-contribute-to-deforestation-in-cambodia-report-finds/">untrue</a> – since lack of enforcement in these countries means many claims go <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ede332153d01455ccf35f36/t/617166b359a6531aa6ad7daa/1634821875193/Disaster+Trade+report+2.pdf">unchecked</a>. The human and environmental exploitation associated with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/oct/12/phone-misery-children-congo-cobalt-mines-drc">cobalt mining</a> for phone parts in the Democratic Republic of Congo is a chilling example.</p>
<p>From the perspective of national targets, these industries’ emissions have disappeared, contributing to the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/739460/road-to-zero.pdf">so-called success</a> of the UK’s decarbonisation strategy. But from the perspective of the planet, they haven’t gone anywhere.</p>
<h2>Supply chains</h2>
<p>There’s another complication. It’s hard to assess the true extent of international <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2020/06/08/tangled-why-global-supply-chains-are-so-complex/?sh=5e9e49275bf5">supply chains</a> because they’re inherently murky. They cross borders, usually involve multiple companies, and are measured differently between countries. That makes calculating the emissions in these chains politically and technically challenging.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A boat carrying containers on the sea" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/438027/original/file-20211216-15-h130f5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/438027/original/file-20211216-15-h130f5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438027/original/file-20211216-15-h130f5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438027/original/file-20211216-15-h130f5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438027/original/file-20211216-15-h130f5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438027/original/file-20211216-15-h130f5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/438027/original/file-20211216-15-h130f5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Shipping is often part of the complex web of product supply chains.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/30478819@N08/42768176654">Marco Verch/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/850130/Env-reporting-guidance_inc_SECR_31March.pdf">UK laws</a> don’t offer any incentives for those involved in supply chains to detail the complex processes, and people, involved. This means that many supply chains are reported to both government and consumers in a highly simplified way, allowing companies to appear more compliant with emissions targets than they are. </p>
<p>This practice hides the true distances travelled by raw materials in the chains, as well as the real environmental impact of what they’re used to make. The clothing industry offers an example of this problem – even industry leaders such as Stella McCartney admit that tracing the provenance of material used to make their clothes is “<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-garment-china-xinjiang-trfn-idUSKBN27L1WX">extremely difficult</a>”.</p>
<p>This system needs a serious overhaul, particularly in light of the government’s announcement that emissions from <a href="https://lloydslist.maritimeintelligence.informa.com/LL1136518/Shipping-added-to-new-UK-emissions-targets">shipping</a> will form part of the UK’s net zero commitments. In the case of the clothing industry, current assessments of the length of shipping supply chains – and therefore the emissions they produce – are enormous underestimates.</p>
<p>If the UK is to achieve its carbon commitments, there needs to be better regulation of its supply chains – and less reliance on voluntary reporting of what goes on within them. And to truly tackle the climate crisis, we need to address the <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203842249-21/carbon-colonialism-offsets-greenhouse-gas-reductions-sustainable-development">carbon colonialism</a> that continues to influence environmental policy. Our environmental footprint does not begin or end at our borders: neither should the way we measure it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173553/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laurie Parsons does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>For the UK to achieve its net zero targets, it needs to take action on its carbon-intensive, poorly regulated supply chains.Laurie Parsons, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, Royal Holloway University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1728542021-12-12T14:46:17Z2021-12-12T14:46:17ZHow the holiday buying season adds fuel to a rapidly warming planet<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436483/original/file-20211208-25-1sb1eul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=94%2C68%2C5587%2C3759&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The average American's consumption of stuff has doubled in the past 50 years. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As <a href="https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/state-of-climate-2021-extreme-events-and-major-impacts">extreme weather events in Canada and around the world are linked to human-made climate change</a>, there is one story that continues to be left out: the connection between climate change and the products we purchase.</p>
<p>Recent research shows that across a product’s life cycle — from raw material extraction through manufacturing, distribution, use and disposal — the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-62030-x">total embedded carbon emissions are 6.3 times the product’s weight</a>. Interestingly, it is the product’s supply chain, or what we do not see related to making and distributing products, that is <a href="https://www.cdp.net/en/articles/media/supply-chains-hold-the-key-to-one-gigaton-of-emissions-savings-finds-new-report">especially carbon intensive</a>. </p>
<p>In the context of human history, the changes to our relationship with the material world have happened in the blink of an eye. Our ancestors lived in direct connection with the land that physically and spiritually sustained them. </p>
<p>Only in very recent human history have so many of us lived our lives at such a great distance from that which sustains us. Today, unchecked consumerism is helping drive a changing climate that is very much affecting all people. </p>
<h2>Stories to buy more stuff</h2>
<p>Since the Industrial Revolution introduced mass production, companies have devoted tremendous quantities of time and money to educating people about the value of the ever-increasing quantities of stuff for sale. <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/40719456">They have told us</a> what to covet, what our stuff says about who we are or our status in the world and why we need to buy even more. As marketing consultant Victor Lebow wrote in the <em>Journal of Retailing</em> in 1955, “<a href="http://ablemesh.co.uk/PDFs/journal-of-retailing1955.pdf">We need things consumed, burned up, worn out, replaced and discarded at an ever-increasing pace</a>.” </p>
<p>Appeals to consume more stuff — clothes, electronics, appliances, toys, cars and so on — used to be found only in advertisements. In the 1990s, the average American was targeted by <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/s/shenk-data.html">3,000 advertising messages a day</a>. </p>
<p>Today, appeals to consume are barely countable, as they are seamlessly and endlessly woven into our screen-filled lives, arriving via text message, personalized pop-up appeals and social media posts that celebrate consumption such as <a href="https://www.elle.com.au/fashion/problem-with-fashion-hauls-25078">influencer haul videos</a>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hksQtIpYCvs?wmode=transparent&start=153" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Haul videos by social media influencers grew in popularity between 2008 and 2016. In them, the person shows off clothing, household goods, jewellery and makeup, sometimes from one store in particular.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Our stuff and climate change</h2>
<p>In the past few decades, those in more materially affluent parts of the world have enthusiastically added more stuff to their lives and discarded hastily. For example, in the U.S., <a href="https://www.storyofstuff.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/StoryofStuff_AnnotatedScript.pdf">the average person’s consumption of stuff has doubled in the past 50 years</a> and, in 2019, North Americans disposed of almost <a href="https://globalewaste.org/statistics/region/northern-america/2019/">21 kilograms of electronic waste per person</a>.</p>
<p>The consequences of our rabid consumption are borne out in the planet’s ecosystems. Consumption in “developed” countries has led to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-56566377">massive-scale logging of the Earth’s forests</a>, leaving just <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/15/just-3-of-worlds-ecosystems-remain-intact-study-suggests">three per cent of the world’s ecosystems intact</a>. The widespread production, use and disposal of plastics has deposited about <a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/speech/marine-litter-and-challenge-sustainable-consumption-and-production">eight million tonnes of plastic waste into the world’s oceans each year</a>. </p>
<p>These outcomes have historically been experienced as “tragedies of the commons.” This implies that the consequences are “out there,” that the degradation and devastation were not been experienced firsthand — but climate change has changed that, taking lives and livelihoods, destroying homes and entire towns with extremes of heat, drought, wind, fire and floods.</p>
<h2>Life cycles matter</h2>
<p>It begins with the collection of “resources” — minerals, metals, oil, water and wood — and follows with their assembly into products, their distribution, use and often quick disposal. Each step in a product’s life cycle has environmental consequences and a carbon footprint. </p>
<p>For example, trees are the Earth’s carbon storehouse but the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) estimates that <a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/un-report-worlds-forests-continue-shrink-urgent-action-needed">10 million hectares of forests are lost each year</a>. Furniture and furnishings in municipal waste (mostly wood products) amounted to <a href="https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/durable-goods-product-specific-data">almost nine million tonnes</a> in 2018, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, nearly five times more than what was landfilled in 1960. Yet, old-growth forests continue to be cut down and <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-is-there-an-800-year-old-tree-in-your-toilet-paper-the-case-for-an-old/">consumers don’t know which forest products contain 100-year-old trees</a>. </p>
<p>While producing or buying differently may decrease our carbon footprint, ultimately, the planet’s wealthiest will need to produce and consume less.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Stacks of logs piled alongside a narrow road, with the ocean behind." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436484/original/file-20211208-19-11taqqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436484/original/file-20211208-19-11taqqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436484/original/file-20211208-19-11taqqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436484/original/file-20211208-19-11taqqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436484/original/file-20211208-19-11taqqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436484/original/file-20211208-19-11taqqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436484/original/file-20211208-19-11taqqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The timber port of Owendo near Libreville, Gabon. A recent study found U.S. demand for furniture from China was contributing to forest lost in Central Africa. Gabon supplied the most wood to China from the region until a 2010 law slashed the export of unprocessed logs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Large-scale and small-scale change needed</h2>
<p>Making an effort to buy less during the holidays could have a meaningful impact. Americans, for example, produce 25 per cent more waste between U.S. Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, discarding <a href="https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2020/12/16/buying-stuff-drives-climate-change/">half of their yearly paper waste — holiday wrapping and decorations — totalling about eight billion tonnes</a>. Likewise, Canadians will send more than <a href="https://oecd-environment-focus.blog/2019/12/24/what-is-the-environmental-footprint-of-christmas/">2.6 billion cards and wrap gifts using 540,000 tonnes of wrapping paper</a> over the holidays. For every kilogram of paper, 3.5 kilograms of carbon dioxide are produced.</p>
<p>Indeed, a big part of coming to terms with consumption and climate change involves acknowledging the inordinate consumption and climate impact of the wealthy. <a href="https://wid.world/news-article/climate-change-the-global-inequality-of-carbon-emissions/">UNEP points out that the planet’s richest 10 per cent contribute almost 50 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions</a>, while the planet’s poorest 50 per cent contribute only 12 per cent of global emissions.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Courier delivering shopping to an elderly woman with face mask." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436487/original/file-20211208-19-11j9054.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436487/original/file-20211208-19-11j9054.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436487/original/file-20211208-19-11j9054.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436487/original/file-20211208-19-11j9054.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436487/original/file-20211208-19-11j9054.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436487/original/file-20211208-19-11j9054.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436487/original/file-20211208-19-11j9054.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Giving is important, but we must give less stuff, more slowly and thoughtfully.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Giving is a wonderful way for us to connect with those in our lives. Giving builds families, friendships and communities. Arguably such connections are needed more now than ever. But what we have been taught by the endless onslaught of consumption stories we must unlearn. </p>
<p>We must challenge stories that encourage fast and “cheap” consumption and demand the telling of — and share — stories that accurately link our copious consumption to the devastating effects of climate change. We must elect leaders who will do the hard work of transitioning away from an endless growth economy based on the excessive consumption of <a href="http://www.doi.org/10.2458/v24i1.20882">monetarily cheap but planet-expensive products</a>. We must demand vital product information such as <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1111/jiec.12372">life cycle carbon footprints</a>. And we must all commit to resisting the constant appeals to consume fast and cheap, by giving less stuff, more slowly and thoughtfully.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172854/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennifer Ellen Good does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A big part of coming to terms with consumption and climate change involves acknowledging the inordinate consumption and climate impact of the wealthy.Jennifer Ellen Good, Associate Professor Communication, Popular Culture and Film, Brock UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1706602021-11-01T14:13:02Z2021-11-01T14:13:02ZDroughts create fertile ground for cholera. Plans are needed to face more dry periods<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429133/original/file-20211028-21-59ensr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/dried-out-dam-is-pictured-on-a-farm-in-piket-bo-berg-news-photo/932983846?adppopup=true">Wikus De Wet/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Africa has a disproportionately <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0003832">high burden</a> of cholera. The World Health Organization reports that between <a href="https://www.who.int/cholera/publications/global-roadmap.pdf?ua=1">40 million and 80 million</a> people in Africa live in cholera hotspots. Globally, disease outbreaks have more than tripled since 1980, with 1,307 epidemic events between 2011 and 2017. Cholera was the <a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/managing-epidemics-interactive.pdf">biggest contributor</a> to this with 308 events. </p>
<p>This is particularly concerning, considering cholera is an under reported disease. </p>
<p>Cholera tracks with areas of high poverty and low access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene. More than a third of people still don’t have access to water in central and west Africa and less than 40% have adequate sanitation, <a href="https://www.unicef.org/wca/what-we-do/wash">according to UNICEF</a>. </p>
<p>Children and women are facing particularly serious consequences to this inaction. This is because cholera is a major component to child mortality. In addition, young girls and women are primarily responsible for water collection, reducing the time available for work or education and exposing them to the risk of sexual violence.<br>
In a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/20477724.2021.1981716">recent paper</a> I looked at drought-related cholera outbreaks in Africa and the implications of an increase in dry periods as a result of climate change. <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/g.charnley19">My research</a> is focused on infectious diseases, including cholera, which have several links and relationships to droughts. </p>
<p>I focused on the subject because droughts are generally an understudied natural hazard. This is perhaps due to their complexity involving meteorological, hydrological, agricultural and societal changes. I sought to collate historically reported risk factors and understand which regions had reported these drought-related outbreaks. I found a lack of literature on the subject but there were several inequities that were repeated and that must be addressed to support drought affected communities better, including food and water assistance. </p>
<h2>Climate change and cholera</h2>
<p>One consequence of a warming world is prolonged dry spells and periods of drought. And a known consequence of droughts and their associated risk factors are infectious disease outbreaks, which are worsened by malnutrition, poor access to water, sanitation and hygiene and population displacement. </p>
<p>These are perfect conditions for a rise in outbreaks of cholera.</p>
<p>It’s hard to predict where future droughts will happen. But available evidence <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969718324987?via%3Dihub">suggests</a> that some areas of Africa are likely to see more intense and longer droughts. How long and how intense, will likely rely on how countries adapt and respond, including the management of water. </p>
<p>Suggested mechanisms through which droughts may exacerbate the transmission of cholera include elevated concentrations of the pathogen, multi-use drinking water, reduced fuel for cooking and using alternative foods and water. </p>
<p>Cholera has known environmental and climatic links. But some <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.07.16.21260629v1">research </a> has suggested these may only be important up to a certain threshold, then socio-economic conditions are needed to make the human-environment link. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-85146-0">Evidence</a> for this is clear in the areas which suffer from cholera outbreaks following climatological events. For example, Europe and North America have a long history of drought and dry spells but cholera outbreaks do not follow. This is because there is widespread access to safe drinking water and sanitation. </p>
<p>Drought and cholera outbreaks can also result in displacement, a risk factor commonly cited as causing infectious disease outbreaks. Displacement can help to spread cholera to new areas. For example, during the <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/X5558E/X5558e01.htm">Mozambican drought</a> in 1991-1992, over one million people were forced to seek refuge elsewhere. This resulted in an influx of refugees to Zimbabwe, which <a href="https://academic.oup.com/trstmh/article-abstract/90/4/378/1864864?redirectedFrom=fulltext">subsequently suffered</a> a fast-moving cholera outbreak. </p>
<p>Other population groups that suffer particularly badly in times of drought are nomadic communities and poorer rural communities. This is due to their reliance on agriculture, inability to afford alternative water sources and isolation from society.</p>
<h2>Mitigation</h2>
<p>I conclude in my paper that disasters don’t cause outbreaks. Rather its societal response, or the lack thereof.</p>
<p>Arguably the most fundamental way to reduce the impacts of drought and resultant cholera outbreaks is to alleviate population vulnerabilities before the hazard occurs. Such steps include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>expanding access to water and sanitation, </p></li>
<li><p>alleviating poverty, and </p></li>
<li><p>reducing the marginalisation of groups. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>This would enable people to adapt better to a changing climate.</p>
<p>In addition multi-country drought response plans and water agreements are needed. How one country manages a water source can have a knock-on effect and drought rarely affects one country in isolation. </p>
<p>When cholera outbreaks do occur, the response needs to be rapid, due to its short incubation period - less than two hours to five days. </p>
<p>Oral cholera vaccines are an essential tool in controlling outbreaks, along with providing chlorinated water. </p>
<p>More awareness of the implications of drought on health are needed including enhanced research, technology, surveillance and forecasting to assess health under an interdisciplinary lens. Better drought diplomacy, which involves using drought-related activities to create <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781118885154.dipl0086">fresh diplomatic opportunities</a> and not conflicts, is needed at all levels to improve the capacity to cope and offer effective solutions. </p>
<p>Communities also need to be consulted and encouraged in climate adaptation talks and negotiations.</p>
<p>The current <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29123067/">cholera pandemic</a> shows no signs of waning and remain unlikely while so many people live in conditions that allow its transmission. These issues will only be worsened as climate change progresses. A greater call to action is needed to provide the basic human right of water and sanitation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170660/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gina Charnley receives funding from the Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC). </span></em></p>A consequence of a warming world is prolonged dry spells and periods of drought that can lead to infectious diseases like cholera.Gina Charnley, Research Postgraduate, Imperial College LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.