Thread by @AgnesKreil

After 3,5 years of studying how emissions from air travel can be reduced, particularly in academia, it's finally time to share my #flyingless dissertation: shorturl.at/oEHL3 I will summarize some points in this thread.👇

In a nutshell, emissions from academic air travel should be reduced because 1) flying is one of academia's largest harmful contributions to climate change, and 2) aviation will not be carbon neutral in the near future.

But where to start? Although individuals take flights, these decisions happen in the context of norms and structures in academia and society.

So change can begin in many places, but without simultanoues change in other parts of the system, it's unlikely to catch on. It seems that multiple types of actions are needed in coordination. I focus on universities as mid-level agents that can play a mediating role.

So what can universities do? Chapter 4 offers 79 policy options and shows which are already being practiced. This can help you brainstorm, and show your peers and management that other institutions are already acting - a point I also visualize here: shorturl.at/hqyDR

But won't researchers riot if their flights are restricted? It doesn't seem so. Chapter 5 summarizes 2 surveys I did at ETH Zurich, showing researchers largely support @ETH_en's efforts to reduce air travel emissions. They're also willing to fly less.

@ETH_en researchers have some concerns about negative consequences from #flyingless, though, especially relating to networking with international peers. This underlines the centrality of developing effective ways to build professional relationships remotely.

Since the @FlylessETH launch in 2017, a broad discussion has unfolded between university members concerning air travel, emissions, and flying less. Chapter 6 maps the important arguments different camps have made ... (image: shorturl.at/uxAS8)

... and dives into rivalling understandings of the connection between academic air travel and doing good academic work (adapted from: shorturl.at/uxAS8).

I hope the information I've gathered, and the ways I have structured it, will help design solid campaigns and policies, while the positive response to the
@FlylessETH - which measurably reduced air travel emissions - is hopefully an encouragement to dare change. 🌱

So sorry, this is the real link: research-collection.ethz.ch/bitstream/hand… Got confused with URL shortener

Turns out the URL shortener I was using redirects links to random pages ... 🙄So here's the long, and permanent, link to this paper: sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

Turns out the URL shortener I was using redirects links to random pages ... 🙄So here's the long, and permanent, link to this paper: sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

Sorry for spamming but the short link to my dissertationgot broken so here's the real link: research-collection.ethz.ch/bitstream/hand… Pls include in retweets & when sharing.