m (Restructuring)
No edit summary
Line 15: Line 15:


A 2017 survey found that conservationists' environmental footprint was only slightly lower than economics' and medics', and that exposure to environmental information had little impact on researchers' behaviour.<ref name="Balmford 2017"/>
A 2017 survey found that conservationists' environmental footprint was only slightly lower than economics' and medics', and that exposure to environmental information had little impact on researchers' behaviour.<ref name="Balmford 2017"/>
Flying often has been argued to be incompatible with anthropologists' research ethics.<ref name="anthro{dendum} 2018"/>


==Emissions and their reduction==
==Emissions and their reduction==
Line 63: Line 65:
<ref name="Glover 2017">{{cite journal | last=Glover | first=Andrew | last2=Strengers | first2=Yolande | last3=Lewis | first3=Tania | title=The unsustainability of academic aeromobility in Australian universities | journal=Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy | publisher=Informa UK Limited | volume=13 | issue=1 | year=2017 | issn=1548-7733 | doi=10.1080/15487733.2017.1388620 | pages=1–12}}</ref>
<ref name="Glover 2017">{{cite journal | last=Glover | first=Andrew | last2=Strengers | first2=Yolande | last3=Lewis | first3=Tania | title=The unsustainability of academic aeromobility in Australian universities | journal=Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy | publisher=Informa UK Limited | volume=13 | issue=1 | year=2017 | issn=1548-7733 | doi=10.1080/15487733.2017.1388620 | pages=1–12}}</ref>
<ref name="Hasan">{{cite web | last=Hasan | first=Mejs | title=New University Rules Encourage Scientists to Avoid Air Travel | work=Wired | url=https://www.wired.com/story/climate-scientists-take-the-train/ | accessdate=2020-02-13}}</ref>
<ref name="Hasan">{{cite web | last=Hasan | first=Mejs | title=New University Rules Encourage Scientists to Avoid Air Travel | work=Wired | url=https://www.wired.com/story/climate-scientists-take-the-train/ | accessdate=2020-02-13}}</ref>
<ref name="anthro{dendum} 2018">{{cite web | title=In an era of climate change, our ethics code is clear: We need to end the AAA annual meeting | work=anthro{dendum} | date=2018-01-13 | url=https://anthrodendum.org/2018/01/13/climate-change-ethics-code-end-aaa-annual-meeting/ | accessdate=2020-02-13}}</ref>
}}
}}


[[Category:Air travel]]
[[Category:Air travel]]
[[Category:Academia]]
[[Category:Academia]]

Revision as of 23:00, 13 February 2020

Air travel is an essential part of the professional lives of many academics, and a major source of pollution from that sector. In the context of the climate crisis, there have been appeals to reduce air travel by replacing it with other modes of transportation, replacing it with videoconferencing, or renouncing inessential trips.

Role of air travel in academia

The individual emissions of academic researchers are high compared to other professionals, "primarily as a result of emissions from flying to conferences, project meetings, and fieldwork".[1][2] Beyond their usefulness for doing research, these travels are motivated by career incentives, as decisions to award faculty positions or research funding depend in part on the applicants' activity as speakers at international conferences. Touristic opportunities also contribute to motivating these travels, which are considered as a perk of the profession.[1] the While conferences and meetings are important for exchanging ideas and nurturing professional relationships, this can also be done using alternative modes of communication such as videoconferencing and social media. It has been argued that the benefits of face-to-face meetings might be outweighed by the benefits of the alternatives, such as reaching wider communities.[1]

Attitude of academic institutions

A 2014 study of three New Zealand universities found that rhetoric on sustainability coexisted with assumptions about the necessity to travel, and policies that encouraged travel.[3] A similar phenomenon was observed in Australia, where "a normative system of ‘academic aeromobility’ has developed".[4]

Attitude of academics

A 2017 survey found that conservationists' environmental footprint was only slightly lower than economics' and medics', and that exposure to environmental information had little impact on researchers' behaviour.[5]

Flying often has been argued to be incompatible with anthropologists' research ethics.[6]

Emissions and their reduction

Estimated emissions

The Template:CO2 emissions for a single conference trip were estimated to 7% of an average individual’s total Template:CO2 emissions. The total emissions of scientists travelling to conferences for presenting papers were estimated to 0.228% of international aviation emissions in 2008.[7]

In a case study of a PhD project, mobility represented 75% of the carbon footprint, which could have been reduced by 44% using videoconferencing. The total emissions were 21.5t Template:CO2-eq or 2.69t Template:CO2-eq per peer-reviewed paper.[8] (In comparison, the carbon footprint of computers, printers, etc is estimated to only 5.44kg Template:CO2-eq per paper.[9])

Estimated possible reductions

Scientific organizations could reduce the carbon footprints of their meetings by up to 73% by alternating large national or international meetings with regional ones every other year, according to a 2011 study.[10] Optimizing the locations of the conferences of the International Biogeography Society could reduce emissions by about 20%, according to a 2014 study.[11]

Institutional policies

Taxes on air travel

The University of California, Los Angeles has been taxing its departments $9 per domestic flight and $25 per international flight.[12]

Activism

Consequences of scientists' emissions on their credibility

Important motivations for scientists to fly less are to lead by example, and to be more credible when communicating to the public on climate change.[2] These motivations are particularly important in the case of climate scientists.

A 2016 survey has found that climate researchers' carbon footprints have a large effect on their credibility, and on participants' intentions to reduce their personal energy consumption.[10][13]

Voluntary reduction in air travel

For researchers, reducing air travel is "the biggest opportunity for reducing personal climate impacts".[10] Some academics therefore reduce or stop flying in order to reduce their individual carbon footprints and/or to lead by example.

Meteorologist Eric Holthaus stopped flying in 2014, and claimed that slow travel made "his world shrink and become richer".[14]

External links

References

Template:Reflist

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Tyndall
  2. 2.0 2.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Fois 2016
  3. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named nz14
  4. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Glover 2017
  5. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Balmford 2017
  6. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named anthro{dendum} 2018
  7. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named sl13
  8. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named aam13
  9. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Song16
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Rosen 2017
  11. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named sf14
  12. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Hasan
  13. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Attari 2016
  14. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Holthaus
Cookies help us deliver our services. By using our services, you agree to our use of cookies.