Of the approximately 190 government agencies, the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm released the most carbon dioxide in 2018 - more than 7,000 tonnes, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency's study showed. The next most is air travel from Lund University employees with 5,900 tonnes.

Although KI has reduced the number of domestic air travel by 18 per cent so far this year, international travel is slower. They are both significantly more than domestic journeys and also account for a much larger share of carbon dioxide emissions.

So far this year, KI's staff has made 6,768 international flights, a decrease of four percent compared to last year. If you combine both domestic and international air travel, the decline is just over five percent.

- We are an internationally embraced university where there are requests from foreign gatherings, conferences and research groups that we should attend. This is one of the reasons why we travel to these places, says travel coordinator Kjell-Ove Lindgren.

No flights under 50 kilometers

KI has now decided that trips shorter than 50 km should normally be made by train and that air travel must be motivated and approved by the nearest manager. At the same time, it looks at how foreign travel can be reduced.

- We are now talking to our partners to gain a consensus on how we can continue to work more with virtual conferences across national borders.