Academics should fly less, says Radboud Green Office. Many sustainability-conscious international students feel the same way, but also want to see their family and their friends back at home. 'Flying is one of the more difficult things in my life in terms of sustainability.'

Last month, Radboud Green Office said it wants to curb air travel by academic staff. In short: universities should implement a harsher stance when it comes to reimbursing flights for its staff in order to encourage more sustainable means of travel. Green Office coordinator Thijmen Sietsma also suggested that perhaps in the future, this policy can also apply to student associations in hopes of raising awareness among students on the effects of air travel.

However, there is a certain group of students for whom air travel is a necessity: international students. Two of them, who are environmentally conscious, talk about their stance towards flying.

Maureen Recoque is an Erasmus student from France doing her last year of Foreign Languages. Katariina Keskitalo comes from Finland and is finishing her BA in Arts and Culture.

How long have you been conscious about the environmental impact our daily life causes?

Katariina: ‘Quite long, I would say since primary school. Mainly considering the amount of trash in nature. It took me quite some time to actually realise the scale of human impact on the environment, since it wasn’t taught about at school too extensively.’

Maureen: ‘I’ve been a vegetarian for five years and I guess that’s where the concept started to grow from. Now I am looking into it more seriously, as I am going to do my Masters in Global Sustainability.’

Did you hear about researchers trying to fly less by using other means of transport or not going at all?

Katariina: ‘Yes. I think it’s inspiring that people are taking action themselves. If you can use a train, why not? Everyone is responsible for doing something for the environment. However, the Vox article or the researchers interviewed did not take into consideration the actions that need to be taken by the airlines, or governments. I think that should be emphasised more. In the end, they are the ones who can make truly impactful changes regarding the sustainability of air travel.’

Maureen: ‘It’s great that some people are choosing other means of transport, but give them the limited budget a student has – and let’s see what they can do with that!’

‘If there was another solution, I would definitely go for that.’

How often do you fly? Is it only to fly home?

Katariina: ‘Around 2-5 times a year. Most of the time it is just to go home for Christmas or summer break, however l do like to travel so sometimes I fly to other countries as well.’

Maureen: ‘Flying is one of the more difficult things in my life in terms of sustainability. I love to travel, I have to fly home, I do fly to go on holiday with my family.’

Would you consider another option instead of flying?

Maureen: ‘If there was another solution, I would definitely go for that. I know that there are some initiatives to make flying more sustainable, although I would not want to be the first one to try out the new planes! But maybe once they become more widespread.’

Katariina: ‘Sure, depending on the destination and time. If I am going home for just two weeks for Christmas, I would not want to use any slower means of transportation since the break is so short anyway. Moreover, I do not own a car and train tickets can sometimes be more expensive than flight tickets.’

What kind of solution do you see to flight emissions?

Katariina: ‘Of course I would encourage traveling with the train, bus, car etcetera whenever possible instead of flying. However, I do think that this issue is not the mere responsibility of the consumer but the airlines as well as governments. They should seriously start looking for more sustainable solutions and invest in research regarding reusable resources.’

Maureen: ‘I don’t have solutions, but it feels wrong, makes you want to explain why you are doing this while you are well aware of the consequences. After all – flying is easy. Flying is cheap. It feels like you are being lazy, but at the end of the day, what real choice do you have?’

How can international students lead a sustainable lifestyle?

Maureen: ‘I try to shop zero-waste, I eat vegetarian, I limit my impact in every way possible, but flying isn’t something I can do much about yet. I think that the more people try to make change even in little things, the more we can change the way people think about the environment.’

Katariina: ‘If it is not possible to travel sustainably, then it is important to make eco-friendly decisions in other parts of your life. Eating vegetarian and not buying unnecessary stuff will save our environment and your money. However, since big corporations and governments have obviously more power to truly change things and contribute to a more sustainable future all we can do is support the people who are instigating these changes on a governmental level by voting.’