Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Spring 2017

Abstract

This study examines the following three research questions related to the impact of air travel at Yale University: 1. What is the total carbon footprint of Yale University’s airline travel; 2. What is the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies’ (F&ES) carbon footprint from air travel, and how does that footprint compare to the other Graduate and Professional Schools (G&Ps) at Yale; and, 3. Is it feasible to include air travel in the current policy design of the Carbon Charge.

This study uses a dataset that included all Yale air travel booked through Egencia during a six-month period (July 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016). The School of Forestry & Environmental Studies is ranked as the third largest emitting Yale G&P, behind only the School of Medicine and the School of Law. However, F&ES’s level of emissions is within a similar range to the School of Public Health and the School of Management, ranked fourth and fifth, respectively. The School of Medicine’s carbon footprint from air travel is an order of magnitude larger than the rest of the G&Ps.

There are, however, significant limitations to both this dataset and subsequent conclusions that warrant further investigation.

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