Reducing aviation emissions in the tertiary education and research sector - blog series

Here at the EAUC, we focus a lot on decarbonising transport emissions, especially those from aviation. Through resources such as our Business Travel Guide, Travel Better Package, and International and Domestic Student Travel Tool, we have worked to help our members measure, report and subsequently reduce their emissions from aviation. So why have we been focussing on reducing aviation emissions and what can we, as academics and professionals, do about it?  

There is a lot of misinformation out there on the topic of aviation, with flight operators greenwashing the public to make it seem like it the sector is cleaner and is decarbonising quicker than it actually is. There are claims made around Sustainable Aviation Fuel, aircraft technology and carbon offsetting schemes that are designed to mislead the public into thinking that we can carry on as normal or even expand our flying behaviour. This blog series aims to set the context for aviation within the tertiary education and research sector, dismantle some of these claims and equip our readers with the solutions available to tackle aviation emissions on our journey to net zero. 

This blog series is composed of the following: 
 

• Reducing aviation emissions in the tertiary education & research sector briefing paper. Compiled by Lara Fahey and Matthew Woodthorpe at EAUC Scotland, this paper sets out the aviation decarbonisation challenge, current best practice, and present and future solutions to meet this part of the net zero challenge. 
• Reducing aviation emissions in the tertiary education and research sector series: Early Career Researchers. Written by Dr Katherine Ellsworth-Krebs, this opinion piece is a personal reflection on the need to fly as an early career researcher (ECR), responding to the often quoted ‘need’ for ECRs to fly to succeed in their academic career.
• Reducing aviation emissions in the tertiary education and research sector series: Final Call. Written by Dr Shona Russell, this is a personal reflection on the need to fly for academic conferences, whilst juggling caring responsibilities, via the medium of a poem. 
• Reducing aviation emissions in the tertiary education and research sector: International Education. Written by Ailsa Lamont, this informative blog explores how our institutions can reduce their aviation emissions related to international education, without compromising on global reach and impact.
• Reducing aviation emissions in the tertiary education and research sector: Oxford’s Flight Levy. Written by Joanne Murraybrown, this technical piece details the process behind how the University of Oxford implemented their flight levy – redistributing an internal charge from those that fly to the Oxford Sustainability Fund.   

If you have any questions about this series, please get in touch.