University researchers have been branded “hypocrites” for condemning air travel as bad for the planet but then flying to conferences anyway.
A study found that about a third of the academics at a leading UK university had flown to at least one meeting in the previous year, despite a large majority expressing concerns about aviation emissions.
“There is a level of hypocrisy: academics know that flying is bad for the environment,” said Professor Jonas De Vos of UCL, the lead author of the study. “But still, we often fly to international conferences, often to [make the argument] that society should be more sustainable.”
