Spiral-scaling climate action: lessons from and for the academic flying less movement

Abstract

The notion that scholars should reduce consumption of workrelated flight travel as a form of climate action has become common in academia. Proponents of this idea have coalesced into a sectoral movement seeking to have a more significant impact. This article critically reflects on the case of the Academic Flying Less Movement (AFLM) to conceptually explore how the environmental concerns of individual scholars might cohere and coalesce into something more powerful. We draw lessons from the AFLM’s existing efforts to change common academic practice through norm diffusion, while also interpreting lessons for the AFLM by developing a spiral model of strategic multi-scalar climate action, wherein the limitations of various modes of action compel scalar shifts towards different forms of action. Our analysis contributes to ongoing efforts in the field to develop more nuanced understandings of the value and limitations of small-scale, demandside actions within the broader constellation of climate action.