How Information on Emissions per Euro Spent can Influence Leisure Travel Decisions

Hagedorn T, Wessel J

Abstract
Based on a discrete choice experiment with 306 individuals from Germany, we examine the impact of the emissions-per-Euro-spent indicator (g/€ indicator) on people's travel behavior. This indicator, which was motivated by Hagedorn and Sieg (2019), makes cheap, but emission-intensive travel alternatives appear particularly harmful for the environment. We find that the g/€ indicator induces people to be more likely to choose the travel alternative with the lower indicator value. This effect persists even if participants are informed about general CO2 emissions. We also find that the steering effect of the g/€ indicator is stronger than for other emission indicators, especially for the costs of offsetting emissions. Our results thereby indicate that the g/€ indicator could be used as an effective steering instrument for people to rethink traveling with cheap, but emission-intensive means of transport, especially with ultra-low cost carriers.

Keywords
Environmental metrics; g/€ indicator; discrete choice experiment; travel decisions; carbon dioxide emissions