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Who are science’s frequent flyers? Climate researchers

Survey finds climate scholars take more flights on average per year — but make greater effort to offset their emissions.
  1. Emiliano Rodríguez Mega
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In recent years, a growing number of climate-change researchers have made the conscious decision to reduce their carbon footprints by avoiding air travel or flying less. But an analysis suggests that, despite these efforts, climate researchers travel and fly more than those who work in other disciplines.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-03000-1

Updates & Corrections

  • Correction 16 November 2020: An earlier version of this story stated that climate experts take five flights per year on average, compared to four for researchers in other fields. This was based on an erroneous version of the study that the authors have since corrected. The corrected data indicate that climate experts typically take two to three flights per year, while other researchers take two. The story text and graphic have been updated to reflect the revised figures.

References

  1. Whitmarsh, L., Capstick, S., Moore, I., Köhler, J. & Le Quéré, C. Glob. Environ. Change 65, 102184 (2020).

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