THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Research Proposal on ‘Accountability of the airline industry in Australia in terms of
raising awareness on sustainability and making high quality carbon offsetting’
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

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RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Abstract
Aviation industry across the globe contributes a significant amount of carbon in the atmosphere,
which is a major reason for global warming. The amount of carbon emission per air passenger is
highest in comparison to other modes of transportation. In the Paris Climate Agreement, the
United Nations has pledged to stop the temperature increase of the planet by 1.5 degree Celsius
and for that the carbon emission must be reduced significantly. The airline industry is taking
measures for raising awareness about sustainability and carbon offsetting. This research study
aims to explore the sustainably measures taken by the Australian aviation industry to raise the
sustainability awareness among the passengers and to have effective carbon offsetting.
Secondary exploratory research will be conducted to get an overview about the sustainable
practices and their effectiveness in reducing carbon emission. The expected outcome of the study
will benefit in understanding how much the measures were effective till date and how those can
be improved for a better result.

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RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Introduction
There has been a surge in the airline travel all around the world since the past few
decades. The number of domestic as well as international tourists has been increasing
significantly every year. Due to globalization, companies are expanding globally and thus,
number of business travelers is increasing. Moreover, the education systems in almost all the
countries including Australia are opening up opportunities for international students. Thus, all
such reasons are leading to increase in airline traffic, which on hand is beneficial for economic
growth, but on the other hand, contributing in the increased carbon emission in the atmosphere
(Becken & Mackey, 2017). According to the data of Air Transport Action Group (ATAG)
(2020), it has been found that the aviation sector contributes 2.1% of the total global carbon
emissions, among which 1.3% is generated from international flights, and 0.7% is generated
from domestic flights. Furthermore, the airlines not only emit CO2, but there are other emissions
also. CO2 consists of 5% to 6% in the total emissions, water vapor is 2%, and nitrogen oxide,
carbon monoxide, sulphur oxide and unburned hydrocarbons consist of around 0.03%. Among
all these gasses, CO2 has the most detrimental impact, that is, the level of carbon in the
atmosphere is the major reason for rising temperature of the planet. Thus, the United Nations has
started taking actions to raise awareness on sustainability and reducing carbon emission
substantially to prevent earth’s temperature from rising, and the global aviation industry is
following those.
The aim of this research study is to examine the effectiveness of the measures taken by
the Australian aviation sector for raising awareness on sustainability flying practices and carbon

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RESEARCH PROPOSAL
offsetting, to understand their impact and find ways for further improvement of the practices and
policies.
The research questions are:
1) What are the measures taken by the Australian aviation industry to raise awareness about
sustainability and to implement carbon offsetting?
2) How much have the sustainability measures been effective in raising awareness among
the aviation companies and passengers and in reducing carbon emissions by the flights in
Australia?
3) How can the sustainable practices be improved for further efficient carbon offsetting?
Literature review
Sustainability has emerged as one of the major concerns of the modern world. In the era
of globalization, advanced technology, digitalization, economic progress and higher purchasing
capacity of people, as the level of consumerism has increased significantly, it also has been
affecting the environmental balance of the earth, resulting in issues like global warming, climate
change, rising sea level etc. Sustainability is being affected substantially due to industrial
activities, agricultural activities such as, raising livestock, and increased transportation across the
world (Geissdoerfer et al., 2017). The global aviation industry also contributes a considerable
amount of carbon and other harmful gasses in the atmosphere which is a major factor for
temperature rise of the planet. Thus, according to the guidelines of the United Nations, the
aviation sector is also taking measures for raising awareness among people about the need for
sustainability (Becken & Mackey, 2017).