Air Travelers’ Carbon Offsetting Behavior: An Experimental Study

Following the hierarchical model of human behavior of Fulton, Manfredo, and Lipscomb (1996), this chapter develops and tests a model incorporating both general and behavior-specific components of motivation. The research aimed to investigate how general and behavior-specific attitudes work together in explaining air travelers’ carbon offsetting behavior. The study is an experimental study that applied confirmatory factor analysis using structural equation models to better understand the motivational factors that influence aviation carbon offsetting behavior. The sample includes 349 staff and students of the University of Queensland. Based on an established hierarchical model of human behavior, the new ecological paradigm (NEP) scale and the theory of planned behavior work together to explicate general and specific attitudes, respectively. The effect from NEP to offsetting intention was partially mediated by three intermediate motivations: awareness of climate impacts of air traveling, perceived effectiveness of carbon offsets in mitigating carbon emissions, and support for a carbon tax. In particular, general support for the carbon price policy showed a complementary relationship with voluntary action.