Parallel sessions

Goal 13 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals requires urgent action to reverse anthropogenic climate change and mitigate its impacts. If humanity is to survive the climate emergency, we are all obliged to play our part, whether through reducing our own emissions as astronomers or inciting the public to act via our outreach activities.

Building on the momentum of recent years – for which the newly established RAS Sustainability committee is a part – this session aims to bring the necessary dialogue on climate action to NAM for the first time. As shown by Nature Astronomy’s recent climate issue (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-020-01216-9), the average astronomer emits ~24 tonnes of CO_2 per year – more than twice the emissions of the average person in the UK. This is in large part due to frequent flying, and the intensive use of fossil fuels for the operation of telescopes and supercomputers.

Here, we will draw on the experience of astronomers (and other relevant academics/organisations) who have been proactive in sustainability thus far, to see how we as individuals and institutions can reduce the carbon emissions of the UK astronomy community without detriment to our research. There will also be the opportunity to explore ideas for how to incorporate the topic of climate change into our outreach activities from an astronomical perspective – there is no Planet B after all. Together, we can use this session to plan our vision for the future, and determine action. We will ensure that the session is delivered by a balanced and diverse range of speakers.

Schedule:

12:00 – Introduction (Hannah Dalgleish, Oxford)
12:02 – Greening the RAS (Robert Massey, RAS)
12:10 – Greening observatories (Sabrina Sartori, AtLAST)
12:18 – Astro-activism (Tim Hewlett, Scientists Rebellion)
12:26 – Climate-astro outreach (Stacey Habergham-Mawson and Emma Smith, National Schools Observatory)
12:34 – Panel discussion