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The TRAIL
The Predicament of Air Travel Emissions and the Study Abroad Experience Lea Cerini
It is predicted that tourism will account for 50% of air emissions by 2050 (Higham et al., 2015). Who is traveling? Where are they going? And why?
There are many different reasons why individuals choose to travel. Most commonly are leisure, work, education and luxury. As the connection between air travel and carbon emissions has become more apparent, airlines have increased prices for flights. The rich can afford the raised air travel expenses that accommodate carbon emissions. However, for the average
university student in the lower and middle class, it is for them to have not traveled outside of their own country before. It is clear that those with a higher socioeconomic status travel internationally far more than those with middle and lower statuses. The relatively small proportion of frequent air travelers raises the question of social and national equity, as they are primarily responsible for increasing greenhouse gas emissions. The effect of these emissions will be borne “disproportionately by people in nations with relatively few flights per capita and relatively low per capita emissions profiles”, as their livelihoods depend on climate stability (Higham et al., 2015) People who are educated about climate change and the effects of air travel on global warming are put in a moral dilemma. The “unregulated individual behaviors of the global elite” and “their relative contribution to climate change” in comparison to the disproportionate regulatory burden” of the developing world is astounding (Jurjonas & Aldana, 2020). Those that are affected the most from climate change receive none of the benefits of international aviation.
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