New study shows flight carbon labels fail to guide Irish consumers
An EPA-funded experiment found that emissions information on booking sites often confuses travelers rather than helping them pick lower-impact flights.
By Sakura Ellis ·
A new study indicates that emissions labels on airline booking platforms are failing to guide most consumers toward lower-impact travel choices. The research, conducted by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) with funding from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), examined how flight carbon data influences booking decisions in Ireland.
The team used a controlled experiment involving a nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults. Participants completed realistic online holiday-booking tasks on websites assigned to three groups. One group saw no emissions information. A second group saw labels stating the estimated carbon emissions for specific flights. The final group saw those labels plus additional information comparing the flight's emissions to other options on the same route.
The results show that the labels had a minimal effect on behavior. Among participants who saw no climate information, 22 percent booked the flight with the lowest emissions. This figure remained exactly the same for participants who saw labels stating estimated carbon emissions. Only when participants saw relative emissions labels did the percentage rise slightly, to 27 percent.
The ESRI noted that while some users successfully identified lower-emission flights, many others became confused by the data. The relative labels created a specific misconception about distance. Participants often believed that a long-haul flight with low relative emissions for its route was more climate-friendly than a short-haul flight with high relative emissions for its route. In reality, long-haul flights emit significantly more greenhouse gases due to the greater distance traveled.
Participants also struggled to understand the technical basis of the labels. Fewer than one in six respondents correctly identified the benchmark used in the relative emissions comparisons. Most assumed the labels compared flights with the same number of stops. In fact, current labels include indirect flights to the same destination in the comparison set.
Shane Timmons, co-author of the study, stated that flying is one of the most emissions-intensive activities people undertake. He added that a small number of frequent flyers account for a disproportionate share of aviation emissions. Timmons concluded that the labels help some consumers distinguish between flights on the same route, but the overall impact is small and many do not understand what the labels mean.
Desmond O’Mahony, a scientific officer at the EPA, said the research demonstrates that current labelling practices do not meaningfully support consumers in choosing lower-emission flights. He noted that in some cases, the labels may increase misperceptions. O’Mahony added that further research is needed to develop emissions labelling that informs rather than confuses consumers about the climate impacts of flying.
