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As the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report underlines, the problem of climate change is urgent, and the 1.5 degree goal calls for immediate and radical emission reductions to prevent irreversible damages to social- and ecosystems. These reductions cannot be achieved without behaviour change, which has the potential to reduce global emissions by 40-70% by 2050 (IPCC, 2022). While this holds true for a variety of different sectors and industries, air travel takes on a special role, where GHG emissions are rising again after the fall caused by the global pandemic (Lee et al., 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2020.117834Test). The present study focuses on leisure air travel and aims to understand the factors influencing carbon lock-in (Seto et al., 2016, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-110615-085934Test), which are especially pronounced in this sector. Carbon lock-in is the result of path dependencies and is difficult to overcome because of self-reinforcing positive feedback loops. These lock-in mechanisms form barriers to the changes necessary to solve the climate crisis. Seto et al. (2016) discern three types of lock-in (technological/infrastructural, institutional and behavioural), and show how they are mutually reinforcing. Therefore, when applying a behavioural lock-in perspective, we will not only consider individual and social determinants of behavioural lock-in but also how aspects related to the technological/infrastructural and institutional type of lock-in affect behavioural lock-in in leisure air travel. We use this lock-in concept as a heuristic framework. Determinants used in the recently proposed integrative Model of Justified Behaviour (MJB) elaborated by Hansmann and Binder (2021; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2021.102859Test) are assigned accordingly to the three types of lock-in, which will be elaborated on in point 17. Moreover, we want to touch upon the degree of behavioural lock-in by utilizing the Avoid-Shift-Improve concept, which is well established in the context of decarbonizing passenger transport (Thaller et al., 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2021.102714Test). This allows us to assess the current level of behavioural lock-in and investigate the most prominent options to escape lock-in. Research questions: How do different factors of lock-in contribute to behavioural lock-in in leisure air travel? Which factors are most predictive for behavioural lock-in? |
