People who believe they have the greenest lifestyles can be seen as some of the main culprits behind global warming, says a team of researchers who claim that many ideas about sustainable living are a myth.
The researchers said people who regularly recycle rubbish and save energy at home are also the most likely to take frequent long-haul flights abroad. The carbon emissions from such flights can swamp the green savings made at home, the researchers claim.
Stewart Barr, of Exeter University, England, who led the research, said: “green living is largely something of a myth. There is this middle class environmentalism where being green is part of the desired image. But another part of the desired image is to fly off skiing twice a year. And the carbon savings they make by not driving their kids to school will be obliterated by the pollution from their flights.”
Some people even said they deserved such flights as a reward for their green efforts, he added.
Only a very small number of citizens matched their eco-friendly behavior at home by refusing to fly abroad, Barr told a climate change conference at Exeter University on Tuesday.
The research team questioned 200 people on their environmental attitudes and split them into three groups, based on a commitment to green living.
They found the longest and the most frequent flights were taken by those who were most aware of environmental issues, including the threat posed by climate change.
Questioned on their heavy use of flying, one respondent said: “I recycle 100 percent of what I can, there’s not one piece of paper goes in my bin, so that makes me feel less guilty about flying as much as I do.”
Barr said “green” lifestyles at home and frequent flying were linked to income, with wealthier people more likely to be engaged in both activities.
He said: “The findings indicate that even those people who appear to be very committed to environmental action find it difficult to transfer these behaviors into more problematic contexts.”
The team says the research is one of the first attempts to analyze how green intentions alter depending on context. It says the results reveal the scale of the challenge faced by policymakers who are trying to alter public behavior to help tackle global warming.
The study concludes: “The notion that we can treat what we do in the home differently from what we do on holiday denies the existence of clearly related and complex lifestyle choices and practices. Yet even a focus on lifestyle groups who may be most likely to change their views will require both time and political will. The addiction to cheap flights and holidays will be very difficult to break.”
The frequent flyers said they expected new technology to make aviation greener, echoing comments made by Tony Blair last year, who said it was “impractical” to expect people to take holidays closer to home. He said the solution was “to look at how you make air travel more energy-efficient, how you develop the new fuels that will allow us to burn less energy and emit less.”
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
Two people died and 19 others were injured after a Mexican Navy training ship hit the Brooklyn Bridge, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said yesterday. The ship snapped all three of its masts as it collided with the New York City landmark late on Saturday, while onlookers enjoying the balmy spring evening watched in horror. “At this time, of the 277 on board, 19 sustained injuries, 2 of which remain in critical condition, and 2 more have sadly passed away from their injuries,” Adams posted on X. Footage shared online showed the Mexican Navy ship Cuauhtemoc, its sails furled