CME OnDemand: 2022 AOFAS Annual Meeting-Quantitation and Patterns of Carbon Expenditure for 2019 AOFAS Annual Meeting Attendance

Quantitation and Patterns of Carbon Expenditure for 2019 AOFAS Annual Meeting Attendance

Video Transcription

Video Summary

The video presentation discusses the quantitation and patterns of carbon expenditure for the 2019 AOFAS Annual Meeting Attendance. The carbon footprint, which is the amount of carbon dioxide and other carbon compounds emitted due to fossil fuel consumption, is traditionally expressed in metric tons of CO2 equivalents. The Paris Agreement sets a limit of 2.3 metric tons of CO2 production per person annually to limit global warming. The annual U.S. per-person CO2 production is estimated at 15.2 metric tons. The presentation analyzes the CO2 production of attendees at the AOFAS Annual Meeting, considering factors such as airline travel, lodging, and food preparation. The total flight CO2 produced from registered attendees is 1,026 metric tons, averaging 1.1 metric tons per attendee. The study suggests the need for rethinking in-person scientific meeting attendance to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and considers options like virtual attendance and regional meetings. The study has some limitations, such as not accounting for business or first-class travel, ground transportation, or the contribution from industry exhibitors. It raises questions on how to maintain conference benefits without meeting in person and balancing the social and economic impacts of virtual meetings. The presenter acknowledges their co-investigators and invites further discussion on the topic.

Asset Subtitle

Eric M. Bluman, MD, PhD

Keywords

carbon footprint

CO2 production

AOFAS Annual Meeting

virtual attendance

greenhouse gas emissions