Space Sciences/Astrophysics Seminar with Andrea Gokus on A Sustainable Future for Astronomy

'Astronomers for Planet Earth' (A4E) is an international grass-roots movement of professional and amateur astronomers, as well as educators. It was founded in 2019 to address the climate crisis from an astronomical viewpoint. Up to now, A4E has more than 1650 members from 75 countries, and many of them actively work towards spreading awareness for more sustainable choices in the astronomy profession. Another purpose of the movement is engaging with the public, to inform about climate change and bring back the focus to the uniqueness of the Earth from an astronomer's perspective. I will showcase a few highlights of the impact that A4E has made in recent years and which efforts are already ongoing in making the field of astronomy more sustainable.

A significant part of the carbon footprint in professional astronomy is created by traveling to various meetings. In my talk, I will present an assessment of the carbon emissions connected to the travel to conferences, workshops, and schools in 2019, which I did in collaboration with several members of A4E.

I will discuss the impact of traveling in this context, but also how our findings can be used to plan more sustainable and inclusive meetings in the future.

Sponsored by the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences.