Flyers Not Willing to Pay Extra for Green Travel on Airlines
Photo Credit: A new study analyzed 63,520 bookings made with a European airline to gauge actual willingness-to-pay for carbon dioxide compensation. Flickr / Dean Morley
Skift Take
This new “field evidence” based on a European airline's bookings is a reality check: passengers might say they'd pay a small amount to offset their flight, but they’re clearly not.
A new scientific study has slammed the effectiveness of airline carbon offsetting schemes in combatting climate change.
The “observational field study” looked at 63,520 bookings made with a European airline to gauge actual willingness-to-pay for carbon dioxide compensation.
It found that passengers were largely unwilling to offset their flights, as just 4.46 percent of bookings included the compensation. The data was collected between August 2019 and October 2020, and contained all bookings made directly on the airline’s website, which was about 20 percent of all sales during the period.
As a result, the authors raise skepticism about the degree to which voluntary offsetting works, from a consumer perspective: “Quite obviously, our data allow the conclusion that adequately offsetting one’s own e
