(April 2022 – all Dr Carbon content is due to be updated and moved from these current dept (Met) pages to new site within SMPCS)

Measuring and reducing the carbon footprint of our research

A key part of research in our Department is understanding the causes and consequences of long-term climate change. In line with the Summary for Policymakers in the AR5 report of the IPCC we are clear that warming of the climate system is unequivocal and that human influence on the climate system is clear. It is vital that we play our role in taking meaningful actions towards achieving the UK net zero target of 2050 in line with recommendations from the UK Committee on Climate Change.

Beginning in 2006, the Department has been interested in measuring and reducing the carbon footprint of our work through an initiative called Dr Carbon which provided an initial report and set of recommendations for carbon reduction in 2007. Following a hiatus, this initiative was relaunched in October 2019. On these pages, you will find information about our current estimates of our carbon budget and a series of actions we are taking to reduce our carbon footprint.

See our carbon footprint estimate

Our Actions

Internal pages

For members of the department, there is an internal page which tracks progress against our actions and holds the minutes of Dr Carbon meetings. Please click below to find out more:

Actions tracking

Since we have identified academic travel as being the most significant part of our carbon footprint, there is also a page which gives examples of low carbon travel that members of the Department have undertaken in the past few years. The aim of this page is to help others to use low-carbon travel options.

Low carbon travel

Dr Carbon is an open initiative across the School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences, with a committee that meets once per term to discuss issues of sustainability, to monitor the actions we have taken and to suggest new actions. Currently, committee members are drawn from all areas of the department including academic staff, support staff, researchers and students. We welcome new members to the committee, please contact Bill Collins (School Sustainability Lead Champion and committee chair) or Kathryn Boyd (committee secretary). The pages above report estimates and actions for the Department of Meteorology, but we are working hard to produce similar estimates and actions for the other departments in our School.

Travel Emissions Calculation Worksheet