Air protection
At CERN, emissions into the atmosphere result from accelerator operation (e.g. ventilation from tunnels, experimental activities) and industrial activities (e.g. workshops) carried out on the various sites, and life on sites (e.g. heating plant, transport, commuting). Atmospheric emissions are monitored to guarantee that CERN activities comply with the applicable regulations in force in the Host States.
Greenhouse gas emissions at CERN arise from the operation of the Laboratory’s research facilities. The majority of emissions come from CERN’s core experiments and more than 78% are fluorinated gases. With climate change a growing concern, the Organization is committed to reducing its direct greenhouse gas emissions
CERN has a formal objective to reduce its scope 1 emissions by 28% by the end of LHC Run 3, and by 50% by 2030 (compared to a 2018 baseline). To achieve this objective, in addition to ongoing repairs, upgrades, gas recirculation systems, etc. CERN will install a new cooling system for the key detectors, which replaces fluorinated gases with CO2, which has a significantly lower global warming impact than fluorinated gases.
In this vein, CERN has adopted a tailor-made policy on fluorinated gases (F-Gas Policy) with associated Implementation Measures. This is complemented by specific Practical Guidance Webpages and a mandatory e-learning course: Fluorinated Gases (F-Gas) – Fundamentals (CERN login required for both). The aim is to support all CERN stakeholders to manage their equipment containing F-gases and to use F-Gases in the most responsible way, to ensure the resilience of CERN’s core activities.
For further details please see the Emissions chapter in CERN’s environment reports.
