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Department of Geography

High altitude dilemmas: Reducing air travel emissions in academia

Academic air travel contributes significantly to universities' greenhouse gas emissions. A study evaluated five air travel reduction measures while also considering the willingness of academic staff at the Department of Geography to embrace these changes. 

Many researchers consider air travel crucial for a successful career and fly frequently to attend conferences, participate in meetings, teach classes, and conduct fieldwork. Yet it also contributes significantly to universities' greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. 

Ideally, the measures implemented to reduce GHG emissions from academic air travel are both effective in reducing emissions and acceptable to the academic staff willing to endorse them.

Rocco Bagutti evaluated in his MSc Thesis five air travel reduction measures while also considering the willingness of academic staff at Department of Geography to embrace these changes. The study has now been published in Environmental Research Communications. It was previously awarded the semester prize by the UZH Faculty of Science.

The key messages

  • Restricting air travel shows the greatest potential for cutting GHGs.
  • Academics are more open to measures such as transitioning to trains or other low-emission travel options, but these strategies yield lower reductions in emissions.

No easy way for universities

Targeting low-hanging fruit may not be effective in achieving academic air travel reduction goals. Universities must be ready to implement measures that currently face lower acceptance. They should involve academics directly when exploring good implementation practices and removing implementation barriers to make these measures more attractive.

Rocco Bagutti, Ariane Wenger, Peter Ranacher: High altitude dilemmas: assessing academic air travel reduction measures by comparing reduction potential and willingness
2024 Environ. Res. Commun. 6 105019 
DOI 10.1088/2515-7620/ad8414

Bagutti, Rocco (2023): Academic air travel at UZH’s Department of Geography: Assessing the willingness and reduction potential of voluntary reduction measures
Supervised by Dr. Peter Ranacher, Geographic Information Systems, GIUZ and Ariane Wenger, Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETHZ.

GIUZ Blog: High altitude dilemmas: Is GIUZ ready to reduce its air travel and move towards a more sustainable academia?
 

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