Flight quotas outperform focused mitigation strategies in reducing the carbon footprint of academic travel
The carbon footprint of academia has become a prominent concern and a burgeoning research area, with a notable focus on greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from research-related travels. Mitigation strategies often promote alternatives, such as developing virtual communication or adopting sustainable tra...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad30a6 |
| _version_ | 1797213043822690304 |
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| author | Tamara Ben-Ari Gaëlle Lefort Jérome Mariette Olivier Aumont Laurent Jeanneau Alexandre Santerne Aymeric Spiga Philippe-e Roche |
| author_facet | Tamara Ben-Ari Gaëlle Lefort Jérome Mariette Olivier Aumont Laurent Jeanneau Alexandre Santerne Aymeric Spiga Philippe-e Roche |
| author_sort | Tamara Ben-Ari |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The carbon footprint of academia has become a prominent concern and a burgeoning research area, with a notable focus on greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from research-related travels. Mitigation strategies often promote alternatives, such as developing virtual communication or adopting sustainable transportation modes for short distances. While more ambitious strategies involving the transformation of research practices are increasingly discussed, these mitigation solutions are rarely subjected to rigorous quantitative assessments or meaningful comparisons. This study analyzes a unique database of about 130 000 travel segments by car, train and plane in 159 research entities across a wide array of disciplines in France. We investigate the patterns and associated carbon footprint of these research travels and explore a diversity of mitigation options. Our analysis shows that air travel overwhelmingly outweighs the carbon footprint of research travel, representing more than 96% of GHG emissions. Intercontinental flights are infrequent (less than 10% of all plane trips) but dominate GHG travel emissions, accounting for over 64% of total emissions. In contrast, domestic and continental flights are the most common but their mitigation potential by modal shift to train is limited (e.g. less than 15% for trips under 1000 km). Similar reductions can be achieved by targeting a small subset of travels, for example by modulating the frequency of conference attendance. The greatest and possibly most robust mitigation potential lies in combining modal shift with moderating air mileage (e.g. reducing travelled distance or number of flights). Strategies focusing on electrification or modal shifts for cars, proposed in official guidelines, are found to have negligible impact. In the absence of low-carbon alternatives for long-haul flights, we contend that only comprehensive strategies and policies which include moderating air travel distance or frequency can achieve a robust significant reduction in the GHG emissions from academic travel. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T10:52:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-56d697774406471bbbb1a34353adc663 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T10:52:00Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-56d697774406471bbbb1a34353adc6632024-04-12T10:05:42ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262024-01-0119505400810.1088/1748-9326/ad30a6Flight quotas outperform focused mitigation strategies in reducing the carbon footprint of academic travelTamara Ben-Ari0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7157-7905Gaëlle Lefort1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8166-2281Jérome Mariette2Olivier Aumont3Laurent Jeanneau4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7588-0490Alexandre Santerne5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3586-1316Aymeric Spiga6Philippe-e Roche7https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6175-4146UMR Innovation et transformation des sytèmes agricoles et alimentaires, INRAE, CIRAD, Institut Agro, Université de Montpellier , Montpellier, FranceUMR Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, INRAE, CNRS, Université de Tours , Nouzilly 37380, FranceUR MIAT, INRAE, Université de Toulouse , Castanet-Tolosan F-31320, FranceLOCEAN/IPSL, IRD, CNRS, MNHN, Sorbonne Université , Paris 75005, FranceGeosciences Rennes UMR 6118, CNRS, Université de Rennes , , Rennes 35000, FranceAix Marseille Univ, CNRS, CNES, LAM, Marseille, France , Marseille, FranceLaboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (LMD/IPSL), Sorbonne Université, CNRS, École Polytechnique, École Normale Supérieure , Paris 75005, FranceInstitut NEEL, CNRS, Université Grenoble Alpes , Grenoble F-38042, FranceThe carbon footprint of academia has become a prominent concern and a burgeoning research area, with a notable focus on greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from research-related travels. Mitigation strategies often promote alternatives, such as developing virtual communication or adopting sustainable transportation modes for short distances. While more ambitious strategies involving the transformation of research practices are increasingly discussed, these mitigation solutions are rarely subjected to rigorous quantitative assessments or meaningful comparisons. This study analyzes a unique database of about 130 000 travel segments by car, train and plane in 159 research entities across a wide array of disciplines in France. We investigate the patterns and associated carbon footprint of these research travels and explore a diversity of mitigation options. Our analysis shows that air travel overwhelmingly outweighs the carbon footprint of research travel, representing more than 96% of GHG emissions. Intercontinental flights are infrequent (less than 10% of all plane trips) but dominate GHG travel emissions, accounting for over 64% of total emissions. In contrast, domestic and continental flights are the most common but their mitigation potential by modal shift to train is limited (e.g. less than 15% for trips under 1000 km). Similar reductions can be achieved by targeting a small subset of travels, for example by modulating the frequency of conference attendance. The greatest and possibly most robust mitigation potential lies in combining modal shift with moderating air mileage (e.g. reducing travelled distance or number of flights). Strategies focusing on electrification or modal shifts for cars, proposed in official guidelines, are found to have negligible impact. In the absence of low-carbon alternatives for long-haul flights, we contend that only comprehensive strategies and policies which include moderating air travel distance or frequency can achieve a robust significant reduction in the GHG emissions from academic travel.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad30a6carbon footprint of researchacademic air travelmitigation optionssufficiencymodal shift |
| spellingShingle | Tamara Ben-Ari Gaëlle Lefort Jérome Mariette Olivier Aumont Laurent Jeanneau Alexandre Santerne Aymeric Spiga Philippe-e Roche Flight quotas outperform focused mitigation strategies in reducing the carbon footprint of academic travel Environmental Research Letters carbon footprint of research academic air travel mitigation options sufficiency modal shift |
| title | Flight quotas outperform focused mitigation strategies in reducing the carbon footprint of academic travel |
| title_full | Flight quotas outperform focused mitigation strategies in reducing the carbon footprint of academic travel |
| title_fullStr | Flight quotas outperform focused mitigation strategies in reducing the carbon footprint of academic travel |
| title_full_unstemmed | Flight quotas outperform focused mitigation strategies in reducing the carbon footprint of academic travel |
| title_short | Flight quotas outperform focused mitigation strategies in reducing the carbon footprint of academic travel |
| title_sort | flight quotas outperform focused mitigation strategies in reducing the carbon footprint of academic travel |
| topic | carbon footprint of research academic air travel mitigation options sufficiency modal shift |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad30a6 |
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