Cambridge University drop flights, prompting calls to scrap red meat ban

The Times newspaper is today reporting that Cambridge academics face permanent restrictions on flying to conferences after the university vowed to become carbon neutral and end investments in fossil fuels.

In 2016, the university banned red meat from the menu as part of strategy to reduce carbon emissions.

The report claims that the university said that its £3.5 billion endowment fund would have no "meaningful exposure" to fossil fuels by 2030 and it would cut greenhouse gas emissions to "net zero" by 2038, meaning any remaining emissions would be offset by reductions elsewhere. It intends to achieve its ambitious aim by cutting the carbon footprint of its staff and buildings and introducing "strong policies" which would significantly reduce flying.

As a result of Coronavirus forcing many organisations, including Cambridge University, to conduct conferences and other meetings virtually, Cambridge admitted: " We can avoid [lots of] flying we so as academics because you can have just as productive collaborations virtually".

In 2019, the Countryside Alliance obtained figures from the University of Cambridge which revealed they spent a whopping £13,431,166.66 on flights, which has amounted to 17,545 flights since 2016, roughly the time since the ban was introduced. Over 250 flights were to cities easily reachable by train from Cambridge or London, including Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Brussels and Paris.

The FOI was put forward after the University celebrated a reduction in carbon emissions since removing red meat from its menus at outlets and events in 2016. Speaking in September 2019, Prof. Andrew Balmford a professor of Conservation Science, said the University had "dramatically reduced their environmental footprint". He went on to say "It is hard to imagine any other interventions that could yield such dramatic benefits in so short span of time." A bold claim and one the Countryside Alliance felt obliged to investigate.

The university said the ban had saved 500 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, but that is less than a tenth of its carbon footprint from flying.

The figures revealed that thousands of flights have been purchased by the University of Cambridge for University staff to and from numerous domestic and international locations including Hawaii, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sydney, Saint Vincent, Sao Paulo, Brussels and London.

A breakdown of the flights shows university staff flying to a wide range of destinations that are not always associated with academic work in including: Zante, Paphos, Orlando, Honolulu, Aspen and Malaga.

The revelations prompted a letter from the Countryside Alliance and a group of over 20 livestock farmers which stated that Cambridge was "open to the charge of hypocrisy as it promotes what it clearly intended to be an eye-catching policy whilst continuing to contribute massively to CO2 emissions created by the airline industry".

It added: "By sourcing grass fed, locally sourced beef and lamb, and reviewing your airline flight policy the University could have a far greater impact on reducing carbon emissions, whilst supporting British livestock farmers across the country."

Speaking in reaction to the news, a spokesman for the Countryside Alliance said: " Cambridge University's bold claim that it was impossible to make carbon savings quite as radically as by banning red meat just didn't stand up when it became clear they had such extravagant flying sprees. Hopefully now Cambridge will quit using red meat as a scapegoat and look seriously at sourcing local, grass fed red meat products; helping the environment and our hardworking UK farmers who aim to reach net zero by 2040."

Earlier in the week, the Alliance criticised an illogical decision by Sheffield University to wipe red meat items from the menu of its catering services. In an extraordinary statement, that has since been edited, Sheffield University proclaimed: 'We have, therefore, decided to take beef and lamb products out of our University outlets and catering. Now we are looking at the burgers sold at University pubs as our next step to say that we are completely beef and lamb free.' After being contacted by the Alliance to explain their decision, the University claimed they had made a mistake and clarified they only meant a ban on 'lamb and beef sandwiches'. They confirmed that they would be sourcing pies and burgers from a local butcher, going forward.