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Carbon footprint estimation for computational research

Nature Reviews Methods Primers volume 3, Article number: 9 (2023) Cite this article

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Data analysis relies heavily on computation, and algorithms have grown more demanding in terms of hardware and energy. Monitoring their environmental impacts is and will continue to be an essential part of sustainable research. Here, we provide guidance on how to do so accurately and with limited overheads.

The urgency for environmentally sustainable research practices has never been greater. The gap between the carbon footprint of scientists (approximately 4–25 tonnes of CO2-equivalent (CO2e) per year per scientist1,2) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change carbon budget per person to keep global warming below 1.5 °C (<2 tonnes of CO2e per year per person3) is substantial.

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Acknowledgements

L.L. was supported by the University of Cambridge MRC DTP (MR/S502443/1). M.I. was supported by the Munz Chair of Cardiovascular Prediction and Prevention and the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC-1215-20014)*. M.I. was also supported by the UK Economic and Social Research 878 Council (ES/T013192/1). This work was supported by core funding from the British Heart Foundation (RG/13/13/30194; RG/18/13/33946) and the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC-1215-20014)*. *The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. This work was also supported by Health Data Research UK, which is funded by the UK Medical Research Council, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council, Department of Health and Social Care (England), Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates, Health and Social Care Research and Development Division (Welsh Government), Public Health Agency (Northern Ireland), and British Heart Foundation and Wellcome.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cambridge Baker Systems Genomics Initiative, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Loïc Lannelongue & Michael Inouye

  2. British Heart Foundation Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Loïc Lannelongue & Michael Inouye

  3. Heart and Lung Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Loïc Lannelongue & Michael Inouye

  4. Health Data Research UK Cambridge, Wellcome Genome Campus and University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Loïc Lannelongue & Michael Inouye

  5. Cambridge Baker Systems Genomics Initiative, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Michael Inouye

  6. British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Michael Inouye

  7. The Alan Turing Institute, London, UK

    Michael Inouye

Authors
  1. Loïc Lannelongue
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  2. Michael Inouye
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Correspondence to Loïc Lannelongue.

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Lannelongue, L., Inouye, M. Carbon footprint estimation for computational research. Nat Rev Methods Primers 3, 9 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43586-023-00202-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43586-023-00202-5

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