![]() ![]() It is unclear, however, to what extent this has led the field towards more sustainable research practices. ![]() Notably, the field of artificial intelligence (AI) has first taken note of its environmental impacts, in particular those of the very large language models developed 19, 20, 21, 22, 23. However, it is only in the past five years that these concerns have reached HPC users, in particular researchers. Since then, continuous improvements have been made by developing new hardware, building lower-energy data centers and implementing more efficient HPC systems 17, 18. The risks of seeking performance at any cost and the importance of considering energy usage and sustainability when developing new hardware for high-performance computing (HPC) was raised as early as 2007 16. Although the environmental impact of experimental ‘wet’ laboratories is more immediately obvious, with their large pieces of equipment and high plastic and reagent usage, the impact of algorithms is less clear and often underestimated. The sector of information and communication technologies (ICT) was responsible for between 1.8% and 2.8% of global GHG emissions in 2020 14-more than aviation (1.9% 15)-and, if unchecked, the ICT carbon footprint could grow exponentially in coming years 14. With the increasing scale of high-performance and cloud computing, the computational sciences are susceptible to having silent and unintended environmental impacts. Other recent frameworks can help to raise awareness: GES 1point5 12 provides an open-source tool to estimate the carbon footprint of research laboratories and covers buildings, procurement, commuting and travel, and the Environmental Responsibility 5-R Framework provides guidelines for ecologically conscious research 13. The Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF) is a widely adopted standard to monitor and reduce the carbon footprint of laboratory-based research 11. 10), and the yearly carbon footprint of a typical life-science laboratory at ~20 tCO 2e (ref. The life-cycle impact (including construction and usage) of university buildings has been estimated at ~0.125 tCO 2e m −2 yr −1 (ref. The 2019 Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union was estimated to emit 80,000 metric tonnes of CO 2 equivalent (tCO 2e), equivalent to the average weekly emissions of the city of Edinburgh, UK 7 (CO 2e, or CO 2-equivalent, summarizes the global warming impacts of a range of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and is the standard metric for carbon footprints, although its accuracy is sometimes debated 8) The annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience was estimated to emit 22,000 tCO 2e, approximately the annual carbon footprint of 1,000 medium-sized laboratories 9. ![]() Recent studies have begun to elucidate the environmental impacts of scientific research, with an initial focus on scientific conferences and experimental laboratories 6. Given the connection between climate change and human health, it is becoming increasingly apparent to biomedical researchers in particular, as well as their funders, that the environmental effects of research should be taken into account 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Yet, science can, and frequently does, impact the environment, and the magnitude of these impacts is not always well understood. ![]() Scientific research and development have transformed and immeasurably improved the human condition, whether by building instruments to unveil the mysteries of the universe, developing treatments to fight cancer or improving our understanding of the human genome. ![]()
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