Environmental Manifesto for a Decarbonized Science
We, the members of Climate team, have a front-row seat to witness the devastating effects of climate disruption induced by anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. In view of the laboratory’s carbon footprint, we are aware that our professional activities are not in line with the objectives set out in the Paris agreement. We are also aware that these professional activities are essential for observing, analyzing and understanding the processes at work in the climate trajectory our planet is taking.
We are convinced that the knowledge we produce about the climate system must go hand in hand with an effort to reduce the impact of our own activities on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
In April 2024, we voted to embark on a process of experimentation to reduce our carbon footprint without hampering the effectiveness of our research. At the end of a year of experimentation, we put in place a concerted and determined process for a trajectory to reduce our GHG emissions.
The different steps of our experimentation and carbon footprint policy are detailed below.
The Convention for the decarbonation of the Climate Team
Following the adoption of our Environmental Manifesto, we constructed and wrote a convention for the decarbonation of the team between June and November 2024, thanks to the investment of some twenty volunteers.
Nineteen proposed measures were voted on between 17th of December 2024 and 17th of January 2025, with 86% of the team members taking part. The detailed measures and vote results can be found here.
These measures include concrete commitments, such as:
- Avoiding air travel for conferences held within Europe;
- Choosing train travel when the journey is under 10 hours or for destinations within France;
- Establishing regular days dedicated to sorting unused consumables and equipment, and creating a “second-hand” resource hub to make them available to all;
- Developing and sharing low-impact analysis protocols to reduce climate footprint;
- Considering the carbon footprint of instruments during procurement, and fostering discussions within relevant platforms;
- Organizing vegetarian, locally sourced, and seasonal buffets/meals.
Moreover, we voted to systematically gather information on modes of transport and equipment purchases, with the final goal to engage in a procedure to reduce the carbon footprint of our air travel at the team level from 2026, based on information collected in 2025.
Our collective approach to reduce the footprint of fieldwork and other trips
All the information gathered about trips is converted into CO₂ consumption thanks to the tools provided by Labos 1point5. In 2025, the 90 members of the team consumed a total of 83 tCO₂ for their travels, which averages 0.92 tCO₂ per individual. This figure only includes official missions and does not account for daily commuting trips.
In December 2025, we voted to implement a collective strategy similar to what is implemented at the IGE laboratory in Grenoble in early 2026 (with a 86% participation rate, results available here). We voted for a 40% reduction of our trip-related emissions for the period 2026-2030, corresponding to a decrease of 10% per year during the 5-year period. This 40% decrease is in agreement with the 50% decrease recommended by INSU for the 2020-2030 period, considering that many members of the team already decreased their travel footprint in previous years.
The collective approach implies that:
- Individual trajectories are not considered separately; instead, the focus is on the overall trajectory of the group.
- Air travel is declared at the beginning of each year. If the total carbon footprint exceeds the annual target, the situation is discussed and resolved collectively.
With this strategy, occasional high-carbon trips can be offset if other team members travel less. These trips are discussed and, if necessary, arbitrated by the group.
Trip declaration is done during the first two months of the year on a spreadsheet available to all team members.