Cairns Convention Centre will welcome more than 500 scientists and experts in the physics community when the XVIth Quark Confinement and the Hadron Spectrum Conference descends on the city from August 19 to 24 this year.
The conference, a significant event in the physics community, is organised by the Centre for the Subatomic Structure of Matter, University of Adelaide, Australia. Inaugurated in 1994 in Como, Italy, the series has evolved into a vital forum for scientists engaged in strong interactions. It fosters stimulating exchanges among theorists and experimentalists, as well as across various related fields.
Cairns Convention Centre was chosen for the meeting due to its strong partnerships with the scientific community as well as its world-class facilitates, which include the recent opening of its new extension that adds 10,500m2 of new floor space.
Attendees will also have the opportunity to experience Cairns’ unique local culture and heritage as well as its stunning natural setting, which encourages scientific exploration and creativity.
Ayse Kizilersu from the University of Adelaide, School of Physical Sciences, who is leading the organising team, said: “Both the venue and destination offer incredible appeal to our delegates, ensuring a high level of attendance from around the world. This year’s event promises to be our best yet and I look forward to welcoming our community when they arrive in Cairns.”
Janet Hamilton, general manager of Cairns Convention Centre, said: “Hosting such a high-profile scientific conference less than a year after our new expansion opened demonstrates our appeal as a venue dedicated to knowledge sharing, community engagement and education.”
The Lufthansa Group’s Green Fares has been well received since it was launched a year ago – with more than one million passengers opting for the new fare – and demand continues to rise steadily in all booking classes, underlining the success of this sustainable option.
Available with Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, SWISS, Edelweiss, Discover Airlines and Air Dolomiti on more than 730,000 flights per year within Europe and to Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, the Lufthansa Group has also been testing Green Fares on selected longhaul routes since November 2023.
In the first year, an average of three per cent of passengers have used the offer, making an important contribution to more sustainable travel. In Business Class, Green Fares tickets are already selected for eleven per cent of bookings via the Lufthansa Group portals.
Green Fares are particularly popular on routes such as Hamburg-Munich, Zurich-London and Frankfurt-Berlin. In total, travellers have offset more than 77,000 tonnes of CO2 since the launch of Green Fares by offsetting their flight-related CO2 emissions.
Green Fares includes the full offsetting of individual, flight-related CO2 emissions by sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as well as a contribution to high-quality climate protection projects. With SAF, a reduction of 20 per cent of CO2 emissions is achieved, while the remaining 80 per cent is compensated by climate protection projects. The Lufthansa Group ensures that the amount of SAF required for offsetting is fed into the airport infrastructure within six months of purchase.
The Lufthansa Group’s CO2 compensation portfolio currently comprises 15 projects, including two technology-based projects.
Currently, around four per cent of Lufthansa Group passengers use one of the various offers for more sustainable flying. Passengers can either select a special fare such as the Green Fares, or individually tailored offers with a higher proportion of SAF during the booking process. They can also offset flight-related CO2 emissions during or after the flight.
In addition to private customers, more corporate customers are also using one of the Lufthansa Group’s offers for more sustainable flying – in 2023, more than 1,500 companies worldwide invested in SAF with the Lufthansa Group.
The Lufthansa Group has set itself ambitious climate protection goals and aims to achieve a neutral CO2 balance by 2050, halving its net CO2 emissions by 2030. As the first airline group in Europe with a science-based CO2 reduction target in line with the goals of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, the group is focusing on accelerated fleet modernisation, the continuous optimisation of flight operations, the use of SAF and offers for its private travellers and corporate customers to make air travel more sustainable.