Medical Conferences Leave Large Carbon Footprint

By Randy Hendrickson


In the British Medical Journal (“Are International Medical Conferences an Outdated Luxury the Planet Can’t Afford?” June 28, 2008; 336:1466), Malcolm Green argues that because of the changes in climate and the dramatic increase in carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, it is our moral responsibility to reduce our carbon footprint as much as possible, for the sake of future generations. One of the ways to do this is to eliminate large medical conferences that involve long-distance travel for thousands of people. Large conferences at distant locations are no longer necessary or justifiable in terms of the carbon burden imposed by the air travel involved. Green estimates that the overall impact from travel to conferences would be at least 6 billion person miles a year or 600,000 tons of carbon.


These conferences could easily be replaced by virtual networks that could accommodate sessions, presentations, and posters. “Sessions could be set up to link as many network participants as is desirable, with a chair to catalyze and control the discussions.” By using these ways to communicate we would be saving energy, time, and carbon emissions. In addition, the costs of setting up virtual conferences would be much less than flying people around the world and paying for expensive hotels. This new way to exchange information will require a new mindset and ways of working, but most people are already familiar with the technology. In addition, “there would be no jet lag, no interminable waits at the airport, no lost luggage, no weekends away traveling.”