How Education on Climate Change Affects Consumers' Willingness to Participate in Carbon Offsetting Programs?

Main Article Content

Deanna Demattio
Leila Halawi

Abstract

If airlines could have a better understanding of how to induce sustainable behavior in their customers, they can use these methods when building sustainable initiatives such as voluntary carbon offsetting programs. The purpose of the study was to determine if education on the consequences of climate change affects how consumers behave related to their interaction with carbon offsetting programs. Regional Scenarios were introduced with a natural disaster comparable to the region under review. A multistage sampling technique was utilized in this study. Firstly, using a cluster sample, groups were used rather than individual units of the target population. The results indicate that education significantly influences behavior compared to behavior before education. Based on the results of this study, we recommend that airlines modify their sustainability initiatives by educating the consumer on the purpose behind the initiative before asking for participation. 

Article Details

Section
Peer-Reviewed Articles

References

Anderson, G. B., and M. L. Bell, 2011: Heatwaves Heatwaves in the United States: Mortality risk during heat waves and effect modification 56. by heat wave characteristics in 43 U.S. communities. Environmental Health Perspectives, 119, 210-218, doi:10.1289/ehp.1002313.

Berry, L., F. Bloetscher, N. HernaÌndez Hammer, M. Koch-Rose, D. Mitsova-Boneva, J. Restrepo, T. Root, and R. Teegavarapu, 2011: Florida Water Management and Adaptation in the Face of Climate Change, 68 pp., Florida Climate Change Task Force. Available online at http://floridaclimate.org/docs/water_managment.pdf

Brouwer, R., Brander, L., & Van Beukering, P. (2008). "A convenient truth": Air travel passengers' willingness to pay to offset their CO2 emissions. Climatic Change, 90, 299–313.

Busch, T., & Judick, L. (2021). Climate change—that is not real! A comparative analysis of Climate-skeptics-sceptic think tanks in the USA and Germany. Climatic Change, 164(1-2) https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-021-02962-z

Carter, L. M., J. W. Jones, L. Berry, V. Burkett, J. F. Murley, J. Obeysekera, P. J. Schramm, and D. Wear, 2014: Ch. 17: Southeast and the Caribbean. Climate Change Impacts in the United States: The Third National Climate Assessment, J. M. Melillo, Terese (T.C.) Richmond, and G. W. Yohe, Eds., U.S. Global Change Research Program, 396-417. doi:10.7930/J0N- P22CB.

DGLR, 2021. Sustainability in Aviation. In: Ro ̈tger, T. (Ed.), Aviation & Aerospace, DGLR edition 1. DGLR, Bonn(in German), 29–33.

Eden S. Environmental issues: Knowledge, uncertainty and the environment. Progress in Human Geography, 1998; 22(3): 425–432.

Educational Attainment, by Race and Ethnicity - Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education. Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education. (2017). https://www.equityinhighered.org/indicators/u-s-population-trends-and-educational-attainment/educational-attainment-by-race-and-ethnicity/

Garfin, G., G. Franco, H. Blanco, A. Comrie, P. Gonzalez, T. Piechota, R. Smyth, and R. Waskom, 2014: Ch. 20: Southwest. Climate Change Impacts in the United States: The Third National Climate Assessment, J. M. Melillo, Terese (T.C.) Richmond, and G. W. Yohe, Eds., U.S. Global Change Research Program, 462-486. doi:10.7930/J08G8HMN.

Horton, R., G. Yohe, W. Easterling, R. Kates, M. Ruth, E. Sussman, A. Whelchel, D. Wolfe, and F. Lipschultz, 2014: Ch. 16: Northeast. Climate Change Impacts in the United States: The Third National Climate Assessment, J. M. Melillo, Terese (T.C.) Richmond, and G. W. Yohe, Eds., U.S. Global Change Research Program, 16-1-nn.

IATA. Airlines expect a 31% rise in passenger demand by 2017. Available online: http://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/pages/2013-12-10-01.aspx

ICC, 2019. ICC signs a partnership at COP25 to support a carbon-neutral aviation industry. Available online: https://iccwbo.org/media-wall/news-speeches/icc-signs-partners hip-at-cop25-to-support-a-carbon-neutral-aviation-industry

International Chamber of Commerce, ICC, Headquarters, Paris, Fr.

IPCC, 2013: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge, UK, and New York, NY: Cambridge University Press 2013.

Kellstedt PM, Zahran S, Vedlitz A. Personal efficacy, the information environment, and attitudes toward global warming and climate change in the United States. Risk Analysis, 2008; 28(1):113–126.

Kerner, C.; Brudermann. I Believe I Can Fly—Conceptual Foundations for Behavioral Rebound Effects Related to Voluntary Carbon Offsetting of Air Travel. Sustainability 2021,13,4774. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/su13094774

Lincoln Lenderking, H., Robinson, S., & Carlson, G. (2021). Climate change and food security in caribbeanCaribbean small island developing states Challenges and strategies. International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology, 28(3), 238-245. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504509.2020.1804477

Lu, J., & Wang, C. (2018). Investigating the impacts of air travelers' environmental knowledge on attitudes toward carbon offsetting and willingness to mitigate the environmental impacts of aviation. Transportation Research. Part D, Transport and Environment, 59, 96-107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2017.12.024

Mair, J. (2011) Exploring air travelers' voluntary carbon-offsetting behavior, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 19:2, 215-230

Masud, M. M., Al-Amin, A. Q., Junsheng, H., Ahmed, F., Yahaya, S. R., Akhtar, R., & Banna, H. (2016). Climate change issue and theory of planned behavior: Relationship by empirical evidence. Journal of Cleaner Production, 113, 613-623.

McKercher, B., Prideaux, B., Cheung, C., & Law, R. (2010). Achieving voluntary reductions in the carbon footprint of tourism and climate change. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 18(3), 297–317.

Metz, B., Davidson, O.R., Bosch, P.R., Dave, R., & Meyer, R.A. (Eds.). (2007). Climate change 2007: Mitigation. Contribution of working group III to the fourth assessment report of the IPCC. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; IPCC.

Mote, P., A. K. Snover, S. Capalbo, S. D. Eigenbrode, P. Glick, J. Littell, R. Raymondi, and S. Reeder, 2014: Ch. 21: North- west. Climate Change Impacts in the United States: The Third National Climate Assessment, J. M. Melillo, Terese (T.C.) Rich- mond, and G. W. Yohe, Eds., U.S. Global Change Research Program, 487-513. doi:10.7930/J04Q7RWX.

Nunez, S., Arets, E., Alkemade, R., Verwer, C., & Leemans, R. (2019). Assessing the impacts of climate change on biodiversity: Is below 2 °C enough? Climatic Change, 154(3-4), 351-365. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-019-02420-x

Pearson, M., & Hamilton, K. (2014). Investigating driver willingness to drive through flooded waterways. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 72, 382-390. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2014.07.018

Pryor, S. C., D. Scavia, C. Downer, M. Gaden, L. Iverson, R. Nordstrom, J. Patz, and G. P. Robertson, 2014: Ch. 18: Midwest. Climate Change Impacts in the United States: The Third National Climate Assessment, J. M. Melillo, Terese (T.C.) Rich- mond, and G. W. Yohe, Eds., U.S. Global Change Research Program, 418-440. doi:10.7930/J0J1012N.

Rasoli, M., Mirrezaie, S. M., Fooladi, E., Hosseini, R. Z., & Fayaz, M. (2019). Effects of reviewing childbirth scenarios on the choice of delivery type: A randomized controlled trial. Turkish Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 16(1), 15-22.

Shi, J., Visschers, V. H. M., & Siegrist, M. (2015). Public perception of climate change: The importance of knowledge and cultural worldviews. Risk Analysis, 35(12), 2183-2201. https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.12406

UNFCCC (2015) Adoption of the Paris Agreement. Report No. FCCC/CP/2015/L.9/Rev.1.

UNFCCC, Bonn, http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2015/cop21/eng/l09r01.pdf

Wild, P., Mathys, F., & Wang, J. (2021). Impact of political and market-based measures on aviation emissions and passenger behaviors (a swiss case study). Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 10, 100405.

Winter, S., Crouse, S., & Rice, S. (2021). The development of 'green' airports: Which factors influence willingness to pay for sustainability and intention to act? A structural and mediation model analysis. Science Direct.