2025/11/10 by Lucky N. Kapoor, Natália Ružičková, Predrag Živadinović +6 · 1 voice
Social Sciences · Decision Sciences · #Conferences and Exhibitions Management #Sport and Mega-Event Impacts #scientometrics and bibliometrics research
paper · pdf · doi:10.5194/mr-6-243-2025
openalex publication_date 2025/11/10 · openalex created_date 2025/11/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
Abstract. Conference travel contributes to the climate footprint of academic research. Here, we provide a quantitative estimate of the carbon emissions associated with conference attendance by analyzing travel data from participants of 10 international conferences in the field of magnetic resonance, namely EUROMAR, ENC and ICMRBS. We find that attending a EUROMAR conference produces, on average, more than 1 t CO2 eq.. For the analyzed conferences outside Europe, the corresponding value is about 2–3 times higher, on average, with intercontinental trips amounting to up to 5 t. We compare these conference-related emissions to other activities associated with research and show that conference travel is a substantial portion of the total climate footprint of a researcher in magnetic resonance. We explore several strategies to reduce these emissions, including the impact of selecting conference venues more strategically and the possibility of decentralized conferences. Through a detailed comparison of train versus air travel – accounting for both direct and infrastructure-related emissions – we demonstrate that train travel offers considerable carbon savings. These data may provide a basis for strategic choices of future conferences in the field and for individuals deciding on their conference attendance.