CO₂ Emissions from Theoretical Physics Research? (IGST 2023)

Abstract

Global Warming is a clear and present danger for humankind. Halting it in time will require technological advances and societal changes at impressive scales and rates. Both, Global Warming and mitigation efforts will have an impact on the way we conduct research. What should we do? What will you do?

Info

Participative poster presented at the hybrid conference “Integrability in Gauge and String Theory 2023” (IGST 2023), ETH Zürich, 20 June 2023

author: Niklas Beisert (Zürich)

based on poster by Beisert & Carqueville presented at Strings 2022

Poster, Annotations

The poster was presented at the IGST 2023 poster session on Tuesday 20 June 17:30 – 18:30 at HCI G floor lobby at ETH Zürich. During this time, visitors of the poster session were invited to contemplate the issue of Global Warming (which is very briefly outlined at the top of the poster, especially in connection to Theoretical Physics research activities), and to participate in finding ways for our Theoretical Physics community to come to terms with its carbon footprint. Due to concurrent duties as organiser of the same conference, the opportunities to actively engage in discussions with visitors were very limited. Two annotations were added during the on-site poster session. The poster was also presented at the online poster session where a hyperlink for anonymous submission of annotations was supplied. The poster remained in place until Thursday 22 June and few thoughts and suggestions were added during this period. Also the online submission of annotations remained open, but did not lead to any annotations.

You can download the original poster PDF here and the annotated poster here.

Transcription of Annotations

  1. Impact of Global Warming on Theoretical Physics Research
    Will progressing Global Warming or mitigating efforts have a detrimental impact on Theoretical Physics research? Why (not)? • Do you consider Theoretical Physics research resilient in this regard?
  2. Impact of Theoretical Physics Research on Global Warming
    Do you think research in Theoretical Physics causes relevant amounts of CO₂ emissions? Why (not)? • Are we on track towards net-zero CO₂ emissions? When and how should this be achieved?
  3. Realised Steps in Theoretical Physics Research
    What steps have you / your group / institution taken to reduce the climate impact of your research? • Do you think the heads, leaders, organisers in our field approach sustainability issues well? Why (not)?
  4. Sustainable Research Activities in Theoretical Physics
    How would Theoretical Physics research be different in a society at net-zero CO₂ emissions? Describe your vision. • What roles do you attribute to change of habits, reduction, compensation and CO₂-capture? What about scalability and time frames?
  5. Hybrid IGST 2023
    Does the hybrid setup of IGST 2023 achieve in terms of scientific content, social interactions, inducing fewer CO₂ emissions & awareness? • Your wishes for IGST 202X?
  6. Steps to be Taken in Theoretical Physics Research
    What steps are yet to be taken to align our research culture with climate sustainability requirements? • Who should bring forward / impose rules towards limiting CO₂ emissions in our research activities?
  7. Responsibility to Research and Society
    Which CO₂ reduction measures should we not impose on ourselves? Can you provide equally effective alternatives? • What exceptions can we claim to retain / obtain higher than average CO₂ budgets? We would need solid arguments.
  8. Comments and Feedback
    Should sustainability issues play a more prominent role in our professional life? Why (not)? • Do you have any other related remarks?

Comments on Annotations and Interactions

In comparison to the poster presented one year earlier at Strings 2022, this one resulted in hardly any interactions or responses (yet, notably some at a more sceptical level concerning the usefulness of their own science). There surely are reasons for this outcome (conference and community much smaller, poster presenter otherwise engaged, …). Nevertheless, it is perplexing to observe that not even plain thoughts, wishes, demands (more …, less …, whether or not naive, feasible, affordable, based in reality, etc., …) are being formulated. A response of similar quality occurred during the discussion session on Friday 23 June at the IGST 2023 conference. It is obvious that any meaningful adjustments in response to the developing climate crisis would require extensive discussions to take place between the members of the community that is to implement them, and this poster is meant as an opportunity to spark such interactions. Unfortunately, it seems that even this first step is not happening in our research field, not even among the younger generation of researchers who attended this conference in good numbers.

At the present level of feedback it makes little sense to comment on the replies that were given. Instead, the interested reader may proceed to:

Data Sources

Illustrations

References

Poster Source

This poster was designed in LaTeX with beamer class and beamerposter extension.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons License “Attribution 4.0 International” (CC BY 4.0).

The poster may be adjusted and reused under the conditions of the above license. The LaTeX source files can be downloaded from here.