Fwd: Working group to lower APSA's carbon emissions
John M Meyer
From: Jamie Mayerfeld <jas...@u.washington.edu>
Date: Mon, Jan 2, 2023 at 5:02 PM
Subject: Working group to lower APSA's carbon emissions
To: John M Meyer <John....@humboldt.edu>
2030 is seven years away, and carbon emissions are still increasing. I believe U.S. political science associations including APSA, WPSA, MPSA, and SPSA among others can and must do more to lower their carbon emissions. The cumulative and per capita carbon footprints of our annual in-person meetings are very high, principally because of air travel. Until we learn how to decarbonize air travel, this is a serious problem. We should look for ways to maximize scholarly value while avoiding harm.
A research article published two years ago in Nature examined different ways in which academic associations could reduce their carbon emissions. (Milan Klöwer, Debbie Hopkins, Myles Allen, and James Higham, “An analysis of ways to decarbonize conference travel after COVID-19,” Nature, 15 July 2020). One of the most significant steps that associations can take is to limit in-person conferences to every other year.
Other academic associations are taking action. The American Philosophical Association decided (on a 3 year-trial basis) that each year starting in 2025, it will hold one of its three divisional conferences online. You can learn more about this decision here. The Middle East Studies Association has moved its 2024 conference mostly online, citing the climate crisis as one of its main reasons. The American Association of Geographers is considering limiting its physical meetings to every other year, alongside other possible measures to reduce carbon emissions. The Western Political Science Association has established a Virtual Communities Program that hosts regular online meetings for intellectual exchange and professional development without need of air travel. (I am past president of WPSA, and serve on the WPSA Climate Action Committee.). A petition submitted to the American Sociological Association suggests holding some of its conferences online. To see other examples of professional associations that have tried moving to low-carbon meetings, please visit this page.
I am interested in forming a working group of like-minded political scientists seeking to achieve significant reductions in the carbon emissions of our professional associations. One idea worth exploring might be to alternate in-person and virtual conferences. As philosopher Helen De Cruz has argued, there are additional equity-based reasons to take this step. The success of Philosophers for Sustainability in persuading the American Philosophical Association to adopt the 2+1 Plan is a model we can emulate. Please contact me at jas...@uw.edu, if you are potentially interested in forming part of such a working group. Please send the names of other political scientists who might be interested, or forward this message to them yourself.
Some relevant resources:
Joseph Nevins and Parke Wilde, eds., “Reducing Academica’s Carbon Footprint,” aka flyingless.org, a website filled with articles, reviews, updates, resources, and two excellent FAQ pages.
Ryan Katz-Rosene, “Flying Less in Academia: A Resource Guide,” a treasure trove of resources and information.
Philosophers for Sustainability, website with resources for teaching, research, and the adoption of low-carbon academic practices. The website defines sustainability in broad terms.
Milan Klöwer, Debbie Hopkins, Myles Allen, and James Higham, “An analysis of ways to decarbonize conference travel after COVID-19,” Nature, 15 July 2020.
Helen De Cruz, “The Case for Alternating In-Person and Virtual Conferences,” Blog of the American Philosophical Association, 15 July 2021
“The Climate Crisis and the Ethics of Flying,” webinar hosted by the University of Washington, October 25, 2022
Jamie Mayerfeld, “Our Individual and Collective Duty to Reduce Flying,” text of remarks delivered to Oct. 25 webinar on “The Climate Crisis and the Ethics of Flying.”
Julian Allwood, “The only way to hit net zero by 2050 is to stop flying,” Financial Times, February 6, 2020
Philosophers for Sustainability white
paper on virtual networking
Thank you!
John M. Meyer | Professor
Chair (2022-2023), Environmental Studies
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