More Swedes are staying on the ground because of “flight-shame”

The Greta effect

Daily chart - The Greta effect | Graphic detail | The Economist

gv_safe

gb_safe

gb_safe_from_high

gb_safe_from_high_med

pos_israel-hamas_war

gs_travel

gs_travel_type

gs_science

barclays_energy_water

ts_energy

progressivemedia

gs_travel_type_air

climate_economist

bhp_environment-sustainability

gs_science_environ

gs_science_environment

blogs_environment

gs_travel_locations

gs_travel_locations_europe

neg_exxon

america_public_transport

barclays_contextual_targets_2022-08-22

neg_fidelity_gmo

gs_travel_type_rail

neg_dit

gt_mixed

gs_travel_misc

cigna_puttingfamilyfirst

hsbc_sustainability

luxury_retreats

neg_dit2

neg_dit3

climate_issue_newsletter

neg_omd_exclusion

travel_luxury

neg_nested_fidelity_gmo

bp_essence_exclusion

Notable holdouts show he hasn’t consolidated the party yet

The Republicans who still haven’t endorsed Donald Trump

New research traces the origin of crucial imports

Who is supplying Russia’s arms industry?

After Dobbs, Americans are turning to permanent contraception

Narendra Modi’s party is eyeing another big victory

Five charts that show why the BJP expects to win India’s election

Fertility rates are falling faster everywhere else

By 2100 half the world’s children will be born in sub-Saharan Africa

Graphic detail

figure

GRETA THUNBERG is currently afloat somewhere on the Atlantic Ocean. The 16-year-old Swedish climate-change activist is sailing from Britain to New York, where she will attend the UN’s Climate Action Summit. With cramped quarters, no toilet and the potential for rough seas, the two-week voyage will be uncomfortable. Ms Thunberg has described the experience as “camping on a rollercoaster”. By air, the journey would take just eight hours. But because of the greenhouse-gas emissions associated with air travel, she refuses to fly.

Sweden, a nation of frequent flyers, has grown increasingly ashamed of its globe-trotting in recent years. The country has even coined a word for the phenomenon. Flygskam, or “flight shame”, describes the embarrassment that Swedish travellers feel about their environmental impact. The phrase was the rallying cry of an anti-flying movement championed by Björn Ferry, an Olympic biathlete, who stopped flying in 2015. In 2017 he was joined in his boycott by 10 Swedish celebrities. Last summer, amid a heatwave and raging wildfires, more Swedes turned away from air travel. “Flygfritt 2019” (No-fly 2019), a social-media campaign, saw 14,500 people pledge not to fly this year. Organisers aim to boost this figure to 100,000 in 2020.

Sweden, a nation of frequent flyers, has grown increasingly ashamed of its globe-trotting in recent years. The country has even coined a word for the phenomenon. Flygskam, or “flight shame”, describes the embarrassment that Swedish travellers feel about their environmental impact. The phrase was the rallying cry of an anti-flying movement championed by Björn Ferry, an Olympic biathlete, who stopped flying in 2015. In 2017 he was joined in his boycott by 10 Swedish celebrities. Last summer, amid a heatwave and raging wildfires, more Swedes turned away from air travel. “Flygfritt 2019” (No-fly 2019), a social-media campaign, saw 14,500 people pledge not to fly this year. Organisers aim to boost this figure to 100,000 in 2020.

Other possible explanations for the decline in Swedish air travel include a slowing economy, a new tax on flights introduced last year and the bankruptcy in 2018 of NextJet, a Swedish regional airline. But Rickard Gustafson, the boss of SAS, a Scandinavian carrier, told a Norwegian newspaper this year that he was “convinced” that flygskam was responsible for the recent decline.

Other possible explanations for the decline in Swedish air travel include a slowing economy, a new tax on flights introduced last year and the bankruptcy in 2018 of NextJet, a Swedish regional airline. But Rickard Gustafson, the boss of SAS, a Scandinavian carrier, told a Norwegian newspaper this year that he was “convinced” that flygskam was responsible for the recent decline.

Flygskam has travelled beyond Sweden, becoming flugscham in German, lentohapea in Finnish and vliegschaamte in Dutch. It has also inspired a spinoff Swedish expression: tågskryt, or “train brag”, for when someone shows off about their virtuous, rail-based holidays.

Flygskam has travelled beyond Sweden, becoming flugscham in German, lentohapea in Finnish and vliegschaamte in Dutch. It has also inspired a spinoff Swedish expression: tågskryt, or “train brag”, for when someone shows off about their virtuous, rail-based holidays.

Daily chart

Get to grips with a region where capital, climate and geopolitics collide

Go deeper with our Middle East newsletter. Every week our correspondents delve into the political, social and economic stories of a region that is rarely out of the news.

Sign up to our Middle East newsletter

Middle East Dispatch

Follow the action in Latin America, from the depths of the Brazilian Amazon to the Mexican-American border

Every week our correspondents share insights on politics, economics and business from an increasingly complex region

Stay informed with our weekly Latin America newsletter

El Boletín

A sharp round-up of the most important US political news

Sign up for updates from our correspondents and data journalists, poll tracker and election-forecast model as the 2024 race unfolds

The US in brief

Inside Europe, from the front lines in Ukraine to the corridors of power in Brussels

Stay informed with our weekly Europe newsletter

Café Europa

Understand a vast and complicated country that will increasingly shape the future

Stay informed with our weekly India newsletter

Essential India

The best of The Economist’s defence coverage, in one place

The War Room

A weekly conversation about culture. Because culture is a serious business

Exploring trends and connections across entertainment, the arts and politics

Broaden your perspective with our weekly culture newsletter

Plot Twist

Analysing the challenges facing Britain and what needs to be done to overcome them

Stay informed with our weekly Britain newsletter

Blighty

Understand what the world makes of China—and what China makes of the world

Stay informed with our weekly China newsletter

Drum Tower

Your essential guide to global business and technology

From supply chains to semiconductors, The Bottom Line newsletter has you covered

Need to track the megatrends shaping business and technology?

The Bottom Line

Catch up quickly on the global stories that matter

Sign up to enjoy a mind-expanding mix of stories, delivered six days a week

Catch up quickly on the stories that matter

The World in Brief

A behind-the-scenes look at how we chose and designed this week’s cover

How we chose this week’s cover image

Cover Story

Exclusive insight from our correspondents in America

Exclusive insight and reading recommendations from our correspondents in America

Checks and Balance

A weekly fix of our mind-expanding science coverage

Curious about the world? Enjoy a weekly fix of our mind-expanding science coverage

Simply Science

Climate-change analysis that you won’t read elsewhere in The Economist

The Climate Issue

Expert analysis of the biggest stories in economics and markets

Money Talks

Taking you behind the scenes of our data journalism

Off the Charts

Long reads and life from 1843 magazine

The Extraordinary Story

The very best of our journalism, handpicked for you each weekday

A daily newsletter with the best of our journalism

Handpicked stories, in your inbox

The Economist today

Highlights from the latest weekly issue, introduced by our editor

The Greta effect

More Swedes are staying on the ground because of “flight-shame”

More from Graphic detail

The Republicans who still haven’t endorsed Donald Trump

Who is supplying Russia’s arms industry?

After Dobbs, Americans are turning to permanent contraception