Nudging Air Travellers towards Carbon Offsetting: the Impact of an Opt-Out Default on the Offsetting Rate

Abstract

Voluntary carbon offsetting is a short-term solution to compensate for the environmental harms of flying. Still, despite its benefits, the number of air travellers who use this option is low. Previous studies found evidence of the power of default settings on individuals-decision-making. Based on a survey and using the stated preferences approach, the researchers take the first step to increase the voluntary carbon offsetting uptake by introducing an opt-out default in the flight booking process scenario. The theoretical background of the idea is based on behavioural economics, especially nudging, for which 2017 Richard Thaler got the Nobel Price.