• About
    • Which Energy Mix is this?
  • Climate News Network Archive
  • Contact
The climate news that makes a difference.
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
  FEATURED
BREAKING: Federal Budget Pours Tens of Billions Into Clean Economy March 28, 2023
Somali Canadians Aid Drought-Stricken Homeland as 43,000 Reported Dead March 26, 2023
B.C.’s New Energy Framework a ‘Smokescreen,’ Critic Warns March 26, 2023
SPECIAL REPORT: ‘Defuse the Climate Time Bomb’ with Net-Zero by 2040, Guterres Urges G20 March 20, 2023
Devastating Impacts, Affordable Climate Solutions Drive IPCC’s Urgent Call for Action March 20, 2023
Next
Prev

Cut Aviation Emissions By Flying Less, U.S. Academic Urges [Video]

June 6, 2016
Reading time: 3 minutes

Aero Icarus/wikimedia commons

Aero Icarus/wikimedia commons

 
Aero Icarus/wikimedia commons
Aero Icarus/wikimedia commons

The surest way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from aviation is to fly less, Tufts University food policy specialist Parke Wilde told a “nearly carbon-free conference” last month on views of climate change from the humanities.

Global air travel has “increased rapidly over the decades,” particularly for flyers in rich countries, Wilde says in a pre-recorded presentation. Air travel accounts for more than 2.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, 8% of U.S. transportation emissions, “and the climate impact would be much higher if we if we counted radiative forcing, the idea that aviation releases its emissions at higher levels” in the atmosphere.

  • Concise headlines. Original content. Timely news and views from a select group of opinion leaders. Special extras.
  • Everything you need, nothing you don’t.
  • The Weekender: The climate news you need.
Subscribe

International aviation “tends to fall between the cracks of international climate agreements,” he notes. But “on a per capita basis, the impact of even flying just on four major long-haul trips is enough to equal or even exceed” per capita emissions in countries like the U.S., Germany, or India.

Wilde gives two reasons for academics to cut their air travel: their direct emissions impact, which he says should be measured alongside the LEED certification of post-secondary buildings, and the “indirect effect, a demonstration effect, as we think about what message we send to the world as we talk about the moral issues of the day, including climate change, and spend all our time flying from place to place ourselves.”

Even in a wealthy country like the United States, he notes, the majority of people never set foot on a plane in a single year, and those who do typically take one or two trips. “So if you or I are among those people who fly three or more times in a year, the greenhouse gas emissions for our own particular practice is so much higher than global or national averages that we need to think about more individualized ways of measuring, to even have any sense of what our per capita GHG impact is,” he notes.

Wilde says a big part of the solution is to encourage universities and professional associations to set goals for the climate impact of their air travel, and measure progress against those goals. He identifies videoconferencing as “just one element in a whole array of possibilities,” including omitting unproductive meetings (Editor’s note: Any objections??), attending some conferences less, combining trips to get more out of each one, enjoying more writing time in lieu of frequent trips, and travelling more by train or carpool.

Colleges and universities, meanwhile, can support deeper carbon cuts by amending tenure and promotion manuals to make it clear that the expectation for academics to build their global reputations “doesn’t necessarily mean lots of flying to second-tier conferences.”

Institutions could also set reimbursement policies to encourage other forms of transportation more and subsidize air travel less, Wilde says, and support “fewer and longer” student travel experiences.

“It’s very important for our students to learn to become global citizens. But the question is, is lots of short travel experiences to places that are also tourist destinations teaching a lesson about global citizenship, or teaching a lesson about privilege?”



in Air & Marine, Carbon Levels & Measurement, Climate & Society, Demand & Distribution, Jurisdictions, Travel, Leisure & Recreation, United States

The latest climate news and analysis, direct to your inbox

Subscribe

Related Posts

kelly8843496 / Pixabay
Finance & Investment

BREAKING: Federal Budget Pours Tens of Billions Into Clean Economy

March 29, 2023
678
TruckPR/flickr
Hydrogen

Opinion: Hydrogen Hype Sabotages Potential to Decarbonize

March 28, 2023
385
icondigital/pixabay
Supply Chains & Consumption

New Federal Procurement Rule Requires Biggest Bidders to Report Net-Zero Plans

March 28, 2023
188

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Trending Stories

kelly8843496 / Pixabay

BREAKING: Federal Budget Pours Tens of Billions Into Clean Economy

March 29, 2023
678
Faye Cornish/Unsplash

Abundance, Not Austerity: Reframe the Climate Narrative, Solnit Urges

March 26, 2023
166
U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement/flickr

Willow Oil Project in Alaska Faces Legal Challenges, Economic Doubts

March 19, 2023
769
TruckPR/flickr

Opinion: Hydrogen Hype Sabotages Potential to Decarbonize

March 28, 2023
385
moerschy / Pixabay

Fringe Conspiracy Theories Target 15-Minute City Push in Edmonton, Toronto

February 22, 2023
1.8k
Bruce Reeve/Flickr

Ontario Faces Multi-Million Dollar Lawsuits Over Cancelled Carbon Pricing Program

May 14, 2022
203

Recent Posts

icondigital/pixabay

New Federal Procurement Rule Requires Biggest Bidders to Report Net-Zero Plans

March 28, 2023
188
UNICEF Ethiopia/flickr

Somali Canadians Aid Drought-Stricken Homeland as 43,000 Reported Dead

March 29, 2023
41
Σ64/Wikimedia Commons

B.C.’s New Energy Framework a ‘Smokescreen,’ Critic Warns

March 28, 2023
63
Prime Minister's Office/flickr

Biden’s Ottawa Visit Highlights EVs, Clean Grid, Critical Minerals

March 28, 2023
89
EUMETSAT/wikimedia commons

Cyclone Freddy Leaves Over 500 Dead on Africa’s Southeast Coast

March 23, 2023
63
Kern River Valley Fire Info/Facebook

SPECIAL REPORT: ‘Defuse the Climate Time Bomb’ with Net-Zero by 2040, Guterres Urges G20

March 20, 2023
342
Next Post

Nuclear plants face crisis of ageing

The Energy Mix - The climate news you need

Copyright 2023 © Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy and Copyright
  • Cookie Policy

Proudly partnering with…

scf_withtagline
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities

Copyright 2022 © Smarter Shift Inc. and Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}