Where does the responsibility lie? : voluntary carbon offsetting in the aviation industry – the consumers’ perspective
Authors
Date
2024Copyright
© The Author(s)
Climate change poses a serious threat to societies as well as the natural environment. Currently there are suggestions to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius in order to avoid irreversible damage. Commercial aviation is an industry where differ-ent climate change mitigation tools are being suggested, and one of these tools is voluntary carbon offsetting (VCO). This thesis looks further into consumer behaviour and their perceptions regarding voluntary offsetting within the aviation industry. There are different VCO projects that consumers can choose to invest in these mainly focus-ing on reforestation, renewable energy projects and sustainable aviation fuel. By con-ducting a quantitative survey as well as looking into existing literature this research looks into whose responsibility do consumers see offsetting as, what the feasibility of voluntary offsetting is as a climate change mitigation tool as well as potential alternatives solutions to voluntary offsetting. The findings show that consumers are hesitant about offsetting their flight emissions either due to the lack of knowledge or due to their distrust towards voluntary offsetting. Participants did not see that they alone would be responsible for offsetting their emissions from flying and very few had off-set their flights before, which could increase the importance of other mitigation efforts. However, should voluntary offsetting succeed as an emission reduction tool, there are indications that there is a need for regulations, transparency and overall, an increase of information around voluntary offsetting. Consumers as well as researchers have concerns regarding whether voluntary offsetting projects deliver on their promises, thus also indicating a need for more research on the long-term environmental impacts of voluntary offsetting projects.
...
Keywords
Metadata
Show full item recordCollections
- Pro gradu -tutkielmat [29104]
License
Related items
Showing items with similar title or keywords.
-
Voluntary carbon offsets in the aviation industry : how environmental knowledge affects travellers willingness to pay : a systematic review
Cordes, Hannes (2020)Although the amount of emission per passenger seat kilometer in the aviation industry is constantly decreasing through technological advancements and improved operations, the industry cannot negate its vast increase in ... -
Does airlines’ eco-friendliness matter? Customer satisfaction towards an environmentally responsible airline
Baumeister, Stefan; Nyrhinen, Jussi; Kemppainen, Tiina; Wilska, Terhi-Anna (Elsevier, 2022)The looming climate crisis requires an immediate response, also on an individual level. Consumers are being asked to reduce and replace their carbon-intensive consumption behaviors. One of the consumption behaviors with ... -
Climate Change Mitigation Potentials of Carbon Labels in the Aviation Industry
Baumeister, Stefan (Nova Science Publishers, 2018)This chapter discusses the climate change mitigation potentials of carbon labels in the aviation industry. As this study shows, there are significant differences in the environmental performance of individual flights, ... -
Biofuels, carbon offsetting, climate-related financial disclosures and materiality in sustainability reporting in the airline industry
Vilén, Ella (2020)Nopeasti kasvava kaupallinen ilmailu aiheuttaa merkittävän osan maailmanlaajuisista ihmisen aiheuttamista hiilidioksidipäästöistä. Lentoalan osuus ilmastonmuutoksesta li-sääntyy edelleen, jos jyrkkiä toimenpiteitä ei ... -
Factors influencing the willingness to pay for aviation voluntary carbon offsets : А literature review
Cordes, Hannes; Baumeister, Stefan; Käyrä, Minna (Varna University of Management, 2023)One measure to mitigate the carbon emissions created from air travel is voluntary carbon offsets (VCO). As a voluntary measure, the question of whether there is willingness to pay (WTP) for VCOs and due to what factors is ...