Just one more flight : an archetype analysis of climate concerns of traveling by plane before and after the Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

Individual efforts to reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses could have a significant impact on climate change if enough people choose to act together. When it comes to traveling however, people seem to find excuses to travel by plane disregarding their concern for the climate. This thesis aims to understand the underlying principles of Norwegians’ climate concerns when traveling by plane, and if the Covid-19 pandemic is a catalyst for changing these concerns. A mixed-methods approach involving in-depth interviews including a quantitative assessment of core values of 22 Norwegians, is used to explore the following two research questions: In what way do individual climate concerns of flight travel vary based on the perceived role they inhabit? and Has the Covid-19 pandemic impacted individuals' motivations and climate concerns of traveling by plane? Three main purposes of travel were identified as leisure, visits, and business, all of which encompass different roles. Roles exist in social settings with expectations and responsibilities connected to them. When not fulfilling these requirements, sanctions are used to steer behavior. Acting according to social norms may contradict individuals' own values and create a gap between their attitudes and behavior. In order to examine the function of roles’ impact on climate concern when traveling, an archetype analysis was conducted following the interviews based on their level of climate concern and actual behavior. Participants were categorized into five groups: the Climate Activist, the Optimist, the Average Joe, the Free rider, and the Climate Denier. The groups differed when arguing which purpose is justifiable for flying, and the requirements attached to roles were found as a frequent excuse. The Climate Activists found all non-essential travel to be illegitimate reasons to travel by plane. The Optimists were more open to travel for leisure, however, aspired to travel in more climate-friendly ways. On the other hand, the Average Joes were more willing to sacrifice work-related trips and valued leisure as a necessity. Furthermore, the Free riders did not feel the need to give excuses for their trips and would rather compensate for the climate in other ways. Lastly, the Climate Deniers did not express any climate concerns regardless of the purpose of the trip. These trends aligned with the quantitative results from the values questionnaire from the ACT project. Using the pandemic as a catalyst for institutional change, in the form of norm emergence, could indicate a potential for lasting change in climate concern. There has been a significant change in travel patterns, both with more domestic destinations for leisure and in the business sector where new habits and norms have already emerged. Nevertheless, leisure travel and visitations are predicted to rebound when the pandemic is over. Thus, the positive climate impact of reduced flights was an unintentional advantage of the pandemic, rather than caused by increased awareness of climate change.