"We fly lots, and we say that we shouldn't," says Jonas De Vos, a transport geographer at University College London (UCL) and the first author of the latest study. "We are hypocrites." This highlights the discrepancy between the awareness of climate change impacts and the actual flying habits of academic staff.
More than 80% of participants agreed that air travel is environmentally detrimental, yet in 2022, more than 35% of respondents flew to at least one meeting. The largest cluster, with 294 respondents, are 'involuntary flyers', meaning that although they prefer to travel by train, they tend to fly to conferences.
Researchers say that institutions and conference organizers should embrace alternatives to reduce the carbon footprint of academia. This calls for a reevaluation of how academic events are conducted to align with sustainability goals.
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