The flight-related carbon footprint of the Pan-African Thoracic Society (PATS) methods in epidemiologic, clinical and organizational research (MECOR) course 2023

Abstract

Objectives: Climate change is a worldwide public health emergency, and traveling by plane results in the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2), which plays a major role in global warming. This study sought to measure the flight-related carbon footprint of the Pan African Thoracic Society (PATS) Methods in Epidemiological, Clinical, and Organizational Research (MECOR) 2023 course. It looked at whether providing feedback on emission information to attendees would affect their attitudes about flight choices. Materials and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study at the PATS MECOR 2023 training program whereby the flight itineraries of all attendees were used to estimate the total carbon emission for each participant’s return journey to Mombasa, Kenya, using the Google Flight tool. An electronic survey was conducted on consecutive days to measure the knowledge, attitude, and practices of respondents before and after feedback on the aggregated emissions estimate. Results: The estimated total flight-related emissions of the 80 attendees were 57 tonnes of CO2. The primary determinant of choice of flight among most respondents was cost, and the least important was carbon emission. Only 22% of respondents correctly estimated that the total carbon footprint exceeded 30 tonnes. The proportion of attendees prepared to offset their carbon footprint increased from 54% to 73% before and after being informed of the delegates’ estimated CO2 emissions, but the change was not statistically significant (P = 0.07). Conclusion: Hosting a major international conference produces a carbon footprint, which, if measured and shared with funders, organizers, and attendees, can help inform the debate about how to reduce and mitigate this important contributor to global climate change.