How a climate scientist deals with ‘travel guilt’
Katharine Hayhoe was raised to believe that science was “the coolest thing in the world.”
“Science is a way of understanding how the universe and our planet works,” she says. “And who wouldn’t want to understand that?”
Hayhoe is known not only for her research, but also for her ability to translate hard data into language people can easily understand. Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy and previously director of the Climate Center at Texas Tech University, she has spent decades studying the impacts of climate change and warning people about what she has learned. That work has taken her onto campuses and stages and into communities around the world.
But all that travel—particularly when done by air—can dramatically increase an individual’s carbon footprint. One study published in 2020 estimated that about one percent of the world’s population was responsible for around 50 percent of the carbon emissions that come from commercial aviation every year. And shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily blunted air travel, environmentalists were even calling for travelers to stop flying.
Here, Hayhoe discusses air travel, when she thinks it’s worth it, and why she thinks reshaping the culture around travel matters more than personal habits.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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Nunn: Do you think it’s hypocritical to hop on a plane if you’re concerned about climate change?
Hayhoe: It’s the reality of the world we live in right now. Many of the most sustainable choices simply aren’t the easiest or most affordable, especially in a society built around fossil fuels. Even climate scientists who understand the problem and take steps to reduce their own emissions quickly realize we can’t cut our footprints as much as we’d like, because the system is stacked against us.
About 15 years ago, I realized that the biggest contribution to my carbon footprint was flying. And I’m not flying to yoga retreats in Bali, I’m flying to conferences and climate events to give talks on climate change, or to see my family. So over a decade ago, well before zoom existed, I decided to transition the majority of my talks to virtual talks. I was aiming for about 80 percent, and now I’m up to about 90 percent.
Nunn: How do you think about the balance between individual responsibility and the system-wide changes needed to make lower-carbon travel more achievable—especially for people who travel often?
Hayhoe: We need to change both why we travel and how we travel. Let’s be honest. Travel is exhausting and a lot of times, for frequent work travelers, it could be done a lot differently. So the first thing we have to change is our culture. Instead of expecting everyone to show up in person, we need to make sure that virtual and hybrid options are the norm. And let’s stop expecting people to fly for a single meeting. Either take the time to bundle work activities into a big enough mass it makes sense to fly, or make it virtual.
Then, when we do travel, we need different options available to us. High speed rail needs to be faster—and cheaper—than short-haul flights.
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Places to plug in electric cars need to be easier to find than gas stations. And when we fly, we need smart flight paths that eliminate contrail production. Those white condensation trails, or contrails, that you see in the sky after airplanes pass by are responsible for half the climate impact of flying. And we need different ways to power flights, from electric batteries to sustainable aviation fuels.
The best choices are often the hardest, most expensive, or least available. Individuals drive systemic change by talking about why it matters, joining groups, advocating in their communities, and speaking up to decision-makers. Personal action starts conversations—but collective voices are what change the rules of the game.
Nunn: When travel is unavoidable, how do you decide when it’s worth it? What do you think about the difference between discretionary travel and the travel that keeps society and families intertwined?
Hayhoe: There’s something different of course about connecting with people in person. So when I travel, to New York Climate Week for instance, I bundle. I never travel for single events. Even if there’s just one important main event that I’m going somewhere for, I am sure to make the most of it by working more. At climate week [this past September] I had 48 meetings.
We make decisions for multiple reasons and for me, seeing family is essential. I could not live in Texas if I were not able to fly home to see my family, especially when there are health emergencies or other stressful situations. In other cases, people have to fly for work (although I do think there is a lot of cultural change we can do there).
So I think that when it comes to travel, the important thing is to be thoughtful about it. Why am I doing it? Is it necessary? What will I accomplish through it? How can I use it to make a difference (including recharging my batteries for more climate action to come)?
Nunn: How do you approach vacation travel?
Hayhoe: The only vacations I’ve travelled for since my honeymoon 25 years ago have been either to visit immediate family, or I take vacations in places where I’m already there for one of my work bundles.
A lot of the places I go for work I wouldn’t have initially chosen for a vacation. I’ve never gotten to go to many of the places on my bucket list such as the Galápagos Islands or an African safari. But I have learned to love taking anywhere from a day or two, to up to a week sometimes, to explore where I am, wherever I am, and every single time it has been wonderful. The world is such a rich and interesting place.
Nunn: Do you or have you ever bought carbon offsets? Why or why not?
Hayhoe: Always. I do not do this to justify my travel, but because by doing so I can support positive community action for climate and nature. We cannot afford to make the perfect the enemy of the good: so first, I reduce my emissions as much as I can and second, if I have to fly, I will offset my emissions while we are waiting for more substantive ways to cut our travel emissions.
If I didn’t do any of that travel, my impact would be much less…but we are often too obsessed with our personal carbon footprint, and those who are responsible for the [climate] situation we’re in want us to be obsessed with that. They want us worried and guilty and introspective.
Nunn: When it comes to more everyday travel or commuting, how do more sustainable habits—such as using public transportation or driving an electric vehicle—spread at the community level?
Hayhoe:
that one of the strongest predictors of whether someone installs solar is whether someone else nearby already has it. I saw this neighborly influence firsthand when I first got a plug-in car and had to leave it charging outside my house. My neighbors would roll down their windows and ask, “What is that? Why is it plugged in? How much does it cost?” That wasn’t just a personal choice—it started conversations. So of course we want to live true to our values. And when our actions help normalize solutions and make them visible to others, that’s one of the most effective ways individuals can make a difference.
Nunn: Instead of asking just “Should I take this trip?” What’s the more useful climate question people should be asking themselves about travel?
Hayhoe: “What is my end goal here and what is the best way to accomplish that?” Make a thoughtful, considered choice. And once you have, be satisfied with it.
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