[Coral-List] Proposal that ICRS supports the organization of remote meetings for ICRS 2020 (Andrea Grottoli, Joanie Kleypas, Christian Wild)

[Grottoli, Andrea]

Dear ICRS members and Coral-listers:


Coral reefs are in decline in part because of anthropogenically caused climate change. As a Society, we have an obligation to raise awareness of climate change issues since they affect coral reefs, and to move the needle toward conducting research and meetings in a carbon-neutral way. That is why the International Coral Reef Society (ICRS) has included as part of the memorandum of understanding for all ICRS-sponsored symposia, conferences, and meetings a clause that organizers should strive to make the meeting carbon neutral.


To this end, the ICRS 2020 organizers have implemented a green strategy (http://www.icrs2020.de/green-strategy/) to make the meeting carbon neutral. The plan not only minimizes emissions during the event, but also compensates for unavoidable emissions, in particular those caused by participants’ air travel, by supporting four dedicated and identified carbon offsetting projects that benefit coral reefs and have high certification standards (http://www.icrs2020.de/green-strategy/). additional efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of the meeting include obtaining 25% of the conference centers electricity through rooftop solar panels and sustainable catering focused on regional and vegetarian meals. In addition, the majority of activities and accommodations are within walking distance of the conference center. Finally, for those unable to attend or who chose not to attend ICRS 2020, the organizers are working to secure sufficient funding to live-stream all plenary talks, free of charge to the public. Efforts are underway to secure additional sponsorships to also cover the costs of live-streaming invited keynote talks. The goal for future ICRS meetings is to provide even more live-streaming options for remote participation through partnerships with possible donors and/or sponsors.


We recognize that carbon offsetting and carbon-neutral are not the same as avoiding carbon emissions in the first place. Convening ICRS meetings only once every 4 years minimizes, but does not eliminate our environmental impact. However, the benefits of face-to-face interactions are undeniable. As humans, we are social beings and our ability to think, work, and innovate in person cannot be underestimated. Coral reefs need that innovation. Real-time, in-person interactions catalyze ideas in a way that is not as tangible in a remote context. This is particularly true for early career scientists, who need opportunities to form their own research networks.


The International Coral Reef Society will continue to strive toward carbon-neutral and even more remote access options of our sponsored meetings moving forward.  ICRS 2020 is the first to have an explicit green strategy – and this is a great start. We hope that the ICRS symposia will lead to policy changes that protect coral reefs and influence policy decisions to reduce carbon emissions on a broader scale.

Andrea Grottoli, PhD

President of the International Coral Reef Society


Joanie Kleypas, PhD

Vice-President of the International Coral Reef Society


Christian Wild, PhD

Chair of the ICRS 2020 Organizing Committee


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Andréa G Grottoli, PhD
Professor
Director of the Coral Bleaching Research Coordination Network
President of the International Coral Reef Society
Chair of the SES Promotion and Tenure Committee
The Ohio State University
College of Arts and Sciences  School of Earth Sciences
329 Mendenhall Laboratory, 125 South Oval Mall, Columbus, OH 43210
614-292-5782 Office / 215-990-9736 Mobile / 614-292-7688 Fax
grottoli.1 at osu.edu


Webpage: u.osu.edu/grottoli.1
Fieldwork Micro-blog: twitter.com/CoralResearch
Coral Bleaching Research Coordination Network:
u.osu.edu/grottoli.1/coral-bleaching-rcn
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