Pledge for sustainable research in theoretical computer science

Human activity over the last decades has been changing our planet's climate by releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The Earth's atmosphere now contains about 410 ppm carbon dioxide (compared to 280 ppm in the 18th century)1,2. The resulting global warming is anticipated to cause considerable harm to human civilization throughout the 21st century and beyond, particularly if the concentration rises above 450 ppm3. To mitigate this, we must urgently reduce our carbon emissions. There are initiatives on many levels of international politics setting goals for this reduction4,5. For instance, the IPCC panel of the United Nations advocates a 45% reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 relative to 2010 levels, to limit global warming to 1.5°C6.

We, as researchers in Theoretical Computer Science, acknowledge that our activities also contribute to the problem, in particular by the greenhouse gas emissions caused by our travel.

We believe that our research community should aim for a significant reduction of carbon emissions and evolve towards more sustainable practices. We believe that this can be achieved while preserving the quality of our research.

As an objective, we commit ourselves to reducing our emissions by at least 50% before 2030 relative to pre-2020 levels.