{"id":9482,"date":"2019-12-03T14:54:03","date_gmt":"2019-12-03T14:54:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/meteorology\/?page_id=9482"},"modified":"2024-05-28T13:51:52","modified_gmt":"2024-05-28T12:51:52","slug":"dr-carbon","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/meteorology\/research\/dr-carbon\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr Carbon"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(April 2022 – all Dr Carbon content is due to be updated and moved from these current dept (Met) pages to new site within SMPCS)<\/em><\/p>\n

Measuring and reducing the carbon footprint of our research<\/h2>\n

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<\/a> 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<\/a> in line with recommendations from the UK Committee on Climate Change.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

See our carbon footprint estimate<\/a><\/p>\n

Our Actions<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Monitoring and communication<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  • Hold termly Dr Carbon meetings which report to our termly all staff meeting.<\/li>\n
  • Annual carbon budget estimate and update.<\/li>\n
  • Refining methodologies to estimate carbon footprint of staff and student commuting, cloud storage and computing and supercomputing use.<\/li>\n
  • Communicating our progress through the Dr Carbon website<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Lobbying<\/strong><\/p>\n

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    • Asking our funders to consider subsidising low-carbon travel and considering funds for offsetting.<\/li>\n
    • Asking international science organisations to report on and reduce the carbon footprint of scientific meetings and workshops.<\/li>\n
    • Asking the University to appoint a travel supplier with expertise in low-carbon travel.<\/li>\n
    • Asking the University and funders to consider the impact of wording about international travel on promotion criteria and advice to grant reviewers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Travel<\/strong><\/p>\n

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      • A policy for additional time-off for staff who choose low-carbon travel to compensate for additional travel time.<\/li>\n
      • Tools for staff to plan low-carbon travel and to consider if travel is necessary on the Dr Carbon website.<\/li>\n
      • Communicate the carbon footprint of travel to staff at booking stage.<\/li>\n
      • Trial and run online seminars.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n


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