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Does ‘flight shame’ affect social norms? Changing perspectives on the desirability of air travel in Germany

Gössling, Stefan LU ; Humpe, Andreas and Bausch, Thomas (2020) In Journal of Cleaner Production 266.
Abstract

‘Flight shame’ describes an unease about the climate implications of air travel, and bears evidence of a change in social norms that have so far associated flying with social status. This paper discusses whether Fridays for Future demonstrations and ensuing flight shame have influenced social norms regarding the desirability of air travel, and whether this is measurable in a decline in air travel, or policy support for measures curbing emissions from aviation. These aspects are discussed on the basis of German flight statistics and an online panel survey (n = 1002) conducted in August 2019 in Germany. Results show that, against a background of falling domestic air transport demand, respondents do not report a significant change in... (More)

‘Flight shame’ describes an unease about the climate implications of air travel, and bears evidence of a change in social norms that have so far associated flying with social status. This paper discusses whether Fridays for Future demonstrations and ensuing flight shame have influenced social norms regarding the desirability of air travel, and whether this is measurable in a decline in air travel, or policy support for measures curbing emissions from aviation. These aspects are discussed on the basis of German flight statistics and an online panel survey (n = 1002) conducted in August 2019 in Germany. Results show that, against a background of falling domestic air transport demand, respondents do not report a significant change in travel behaviour. However, a two-third majority of respondents indicate support for market-based measures increasing the cost of flying, as well as policies forcing airlines to reduce emissions and legislation abolishing subsidies. These findings point at an ongoing change in social norms, which could be reinforced if policymakers took advantage of public support for ambitious climate policies.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Aviation, Climate policy, Flight shame, Fridays for future, Social norms
in
Journal of Cleaner Production
volume
266
article number
122015
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85084507379
ISSN
0959-6526
DOI
10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122015
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
b41ad7a5-2be3-4e46-8086-1f78cec3295b
date added to LUP
2020-06-01 12:51:51
date last changed
2022-12-23 22:34:01
@article{b41ad7a5-2be3-4e46-8086-1f78cec3295b,
  abstract     = {{<p>‘Flight shame’ describes an unease about the climate implications of air travel, and bears evidence of a change in social norms that have so far associated flying with social status. This paper discusses whether Fridays for Future demonstrations and ensuing flight shame have influenced social norms regarding the desirability of air travel, and whether this is measurable in a decline in air travel, or policy support for measures curbing emissions from aviation. These aspects are discussed on the basis of German flight statistics and an online panel survey (n = 1002) conducted in August 2019 in Germany. Results show that, against a background of falling domestic air transport demand, respondents do not report a significant change in travel behaviour. However, a two-third majority of respondents indicate support for market-based measures increasing the cost of flying, as well as policies forcing airlines to reduce emissions and legislation abolishing subsidies. These findings point at an ongoing change in social norms, which could be reinforced if policymakers took advantage of public support for ambitious climate policies.</p>}},
  author       = {{Gössling, Stefan and Humpe, Andreas and Bausch, Thomas}},
  issn         = {{0959-6526}},
  keywords     = {{Aviation; Climate policy; Flight shame; Fridays for future; Social norms}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Journal of Cleaner Production}},
  title        = {{Does ‘flight shame’ affect social norms? Changing perspectives on the desirability of air travel in Germany}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122015}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122015}},
  volume       = {{266}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}