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This is an accepted manuscript version of an article published in Journal of Studies in
International Education
Nikula, P.-T., Fusek, A., & van Gaalen, A. (2022). Internationalisation of Higher Education and
Climate Change: A Cognitive Dissonance Perspective. Journal of Studies in International
Education, 0(0). Copyright © [2022] (SAGE). https://doi.org/10.1177/10283153221145082
Internationalisation of Higher Education and Climate Change: A Cognitive Dissonance
Perspective
Abstract
This article applies cognitive dissonance theory to the internationalisation of higher education
sector to comment on tensions experienced by practitioners associated with their work’s
climate impact. The existing literature and relevant climate action drivers and challenges
within the sector are reviewed. A case study of a global grassroot initiative, the Climate Action
Network for International Educators, is considered to discuss possible solutions for how
stakeholders can increase or decrease tensions at work in the relationship between
international higher education and climate change. This article posits that cognitive
dissonance theory can contribute to a better understanding of how dilemmas emerge at the
intersection between international higher education and climate change to promote climate
action within the sector. Avenues for future research are recommended.
Introduction
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes (IPCC) report ‘Climate Change 2022:
Mitigation of Climate Change’ re-emphasised the urgency of decisive action to reduce the
likelihood of some of the most catastrophic consequences of climate change, a message that
builds on several decades of research and policy discussions around this key global topic.
Notably, the Paris Agreement (2015) commits its 196 parties to pursue efforts to limit global
temperature rise to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. To meet this temperature target,
rapid decarbonisation across countries, sectors, and organisations is required, necessitating
both public and private sector involvement. Consequently, the role of higher education
institutes (HEIs) in contributing to the climate crisis, and in advancing solutions, has become
an integral component of the global climate action discourse.
International travel, often using greenhouse gas-intensive flights, is a defining characteristic of
internationalisation of higher education. Hence, this sector warrants detailed investigation in
relation to its climate impacts, opportunities, and possible tensions between the two. Overall,
the climate change discussion within the international higher education community has
emerged fairly recently and many HEIs are in early stages of considering its importance and
impact. Meanwhile, students are demanding action, as evident in the agendas and activities of
groups such as Students Organising for Sustainability International in the UK, the Young
Academy in the Netherlands, and the Erasmus Student Network in Europe.
In this article we discuss the scope of the climate-warming emissions caused by
internationalisation of higher education, as well as associated tensions experienced by
practitioners in the sector, and possible interventions to advance climate solutions. We first
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review the body of literature at the intersection of internationalisation of higher education
and climate change with a focus on climate action drivers and challenges. Then, we discuss
cognitive dissonance theory and apply it to tensions existing at the intersection of
internationalisation of higher education and climate change. Cognitive dissonance theory
(Festinger, 1957) provides a promising framework for analysing how tensions between
attitudes and contradicting behaviours emerge and can be resolved. It has been applied in
research in adjacent fields exploring dynamics between air travel and climate change
(Árnadóttir et al., 2021; McDonald et al., 2015; Schrems & Upham, 2020), which may have
resonance in relation to internationalisation in higher education. We then use the case study
of a global grassroots initiative, the Climate Action Network for International Educators
(CANIE) and its recently released Climate Accord, to consider how networks and associations
such as CANIE, may increase or decrease cognitive dissonance by creating awareness and
outlining solutions. Finally, this article concludes by making recommendations for a future
research agenda on this topic.
Literature Review
Several substantive publications discussing the intersection of climate change and
internationalisation of higher education have been produced in the past few years. The key
literature on the topic addresses two main areas: problematising emissions from student and
staff travel and the impact of international experiences/programmes on students’ climate
awareness and behaviours. In addition, there is an emerging body of literature exploring other
topics such as student and staff perspectives on climate change and higher education’s
response to climate change through its internationalisation agendas and activities.
Much of the climate change discussion in relation to internationalisation of higher education,
and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to it, has focused on the most visible dimension,
namely student mobility (Arsenault et al., 2019; Baer, 2022; de Wit & Altbach; Fusek, 2022;
Glover et al., 2018; Rumbley, 2020; Shields, 2019). Notable works include Robin Shields’
(2019) article which estimated emissions from international student mobility in the range of
14-39 megatons in 2014. Others have taken account of the sector’s GHG emissions in specific
country, institutional, or mobility contexts (c.f., Arsenault et al., 2019; Hale, 2019; McDonald,
2015). When considering all human induced emissions of around 50 gigatons annually or the
global aviation footprint in 2019 of approximately 915 megatons (ATAG, 2020; Ritchie et al.,
2020), emissions from international student mobility may be considered marginal. However,
travel by air constitutes one of the most emissions-intensive activities in which individuals can
engage. Consequently, emissions from international student mobility are not insignificant and
are amplified by emissions from academic research and international education (IE) business
travel. Hence, this topic warrants focused attention particularly if the higher education sector
is to live up to its professed commitments to occupy a leading role in advancing global
sustainability efforts and climate change mitigation (Stacey, 2019).
There is a notable body of research that has examined the intersection of teaching and
learning about sustainability and study abroad (Hane & Korfmacher, 2020; Ling et al., 2021;
Reilly & Senders, 2009; Tarrant et al., 2021, 2014; Zhang & Gibson, 2021). This research covers
issues of education for sustainable development (ESD) and sustainability attitudes and
provides insight into the potential for ESD benefits to be derived from study abroad programs.
Reilley and Senders (2009) envision study abroad as ‘an activist force in the service of global
survival’ (p. 262). They proposed that study abroad participants should study local climate
action and share what they learn in their host and home communities (Reilley & Senders
2009). Zhang and Gibson’s (2021) study showed that graduates of study abroad offerings
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involving sustainability content often retained a sustainability focused mindset long after
participation. Similarly, Ling et al. (2021) found that sustainability courses embedded in study
abroad provided the greatest gains in sustainability literacy compared to on-campus
sustainability-themed courses. Among the course variables (i.e. on-campus, international,
sustainability themed, and non-sustainability themed) the gains of on-campus sustainability
courses were not significantly greater than the gains from international courses without
sustainability related content (Ling et al. 2021). Hence, educational travel may have unique
value in developing sustainability literacy.
Scholars have also discussed organisational sustainability initiatives and climate friendly
actions of HEIs and explored available solutions (Glover et al., 2018; McCowan, 2019; van
Gaalen & Nikula, 2022). Van Gaalen (2020) proposes a framework for HEIs to use when
considering the sustainability and ethics of their international operations highlighting the
distinct dimensions of people, planet (including climate change), and prosperity. She discusses
various dilemmas in relation to internationalisation of HEIs and sustainability interests such as
policy inconsistency when committing to develop global citizenship yet approaching this aim
through a carbon-intensive activity abroad. Van Gaalen further points out the existence of
trade-offs between key interests. For example, whereas long-term mobility has a lower carbon
effect than short-term mobility, the downside is that long-term mobility is less accessible
highlighting the short-term gain and long-term cost dilemma.
Limited empirical research exists on the climate change practices and perspectives of IE
practitioners. The exploratory study by Campbell, Nguyen, and Stewart (2022) presents
findings from qualitative interviews with U.S. based IE practitioners. The participants
acknowledged IE has the potential to advance ESD and, therefore, serve to mitigate climate
change. Conversely, they also recognised international education as an activity contributing
to climate change. Some participants identified the underlying value conflict and discussed
negative feelings associated with it (such as feeling frustrated or overwhelmed), whilst others
were somewhat less aware of the conflict between their work and implications of the
greenhouse gases it produces (Campbell, Nguyen & Stewart, 2022).
Moreover, a recent survey (Dessai & Morlely, 2022) from the UK highlights that many IE
leaders at universities recognise the importance of climate action and have linked, or are
planning to link, their internationalisation and sustainability strategies. Many of these survey
respondents also reported having introduced policies or practices that help reduce travel
related emissions. Another recent survey (Bound International, 2021) mainly involving U.S.
respondents, shows that there are a number of institutions that have introduced or are
considering introducing climate and other environmentally friendly practices in education
abroad. The findings from these surveys are promising and indicate that some institutions are
becoming more active in this area.
Related surveys have offered insights into how internationally mobile students view
environmental sustainability issues, such as climate change, and the extent to which they
expect their host institutions to take climate action (QS, 2019; THE Consultancy, 2021). The
results indicate that many prospective and current students want to see HEIs introduce
environmentally sustainable practices. Sustainability is also highlighted as one of the factors
prospective students are likely to use in their decision-making process (QS, 2019; Students
Organising for Sustainability International, 2021; THE Consultancy, 2021). However, a study by
Green Erasmus shows that only a small proportion of Erasmus students took into account
environmental effects in their choice of transportation to their destination (5.5 %) or from
their destination (6.3 %) (Green Erasmus, 2022). This is in line with an earlier observation
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made by Reilley and Senders (2009) that students often consider study abroad a right rather
than a responsibility. Hence, further investigation into this topic, including mobile students’
attitudes and behaviours, and their potential misalignment, is warranted.
Existing literature highlights that climate change, and environmental sustainability more
broadly, has risen to the agenda of both IE academics and practitioners in recent years. It also
underscores specific tensions and drivers for climate action across the sector. The next section
further delves into these tensions and how they can be understood using cognitive dissonance
theory.
Cognitive Dissonance as a Framework for Understanding Climate Change Mitigation
Tensions
The literature supports the existence of varying degrees of climate discomfort among IE
practitioners and students. To make sense of underlying tensions and potential solutions
between internationalisation of higher education and climate change, we employ cognitive
dissonance theory at the individual and sector levels. Cognitive dissonance is one of the most
enduring theories in social psychology having undergone upwards of six decades of
conceptual and laboratory research. Introduced by Leon Festinger (1957), cognitive
dissonance theory proposes that an uncomfortable tension arises when an individual
experiences conflicting attitudinal or behavioural cognitions. An IE practitioner, for example,
may recognize the real benefits of student mobility while simultaneously acknowledging the
negative environmental impacts of the GHGs emitted from air travel. Stone and Cooper (2001)
introduced two forms of cognitive dissonance: idiographic dissonance, which occurs with
inconsistencies between an individual’s personal standards or expectations of themselves and
nomothetic dissonance, which occurs with inconsistencies related to social normative
standards (Stone & Cooper, 2001). We posit that the climate-conscious international educator
may experience both idiographic and nomothetic dissonance.
Festinger (1957) proposed that cognitive dissonance produces a drive to reduce its resulting
discomfort by resolving the inconsistency between cognitions. Harmon-Jones and Mills (2019)
expanded on this notion by suggesting incongruent cognitions could be resolved by
“removing dissonant cognitions, adding new consonant cognitions, reducing the importance
of dissonant cognitions, or increasing the importance of consonant cognitions” (p. 4). In the
context of IE, an individual who is concerned about emissions from air travel may choose to
eliminate or reduce their personal and work-related air travel to bring their behavioural
cognitions in closer alignment with their attitudinal cognitions. Multiple reduction strategies
have been identified that corroborate Harmon-Jones and Mills (2019) concept of
removing/reducing or adding/increasing consonant or dissonant cognitions. These include
denial of control, denial of responsibility, and compensation with benefits (Schrems & Upham,
2020). Denial of control has been expressed as considering travel a necessary career
component (Schrems & Upham, 2020), which could be particularly relevant for international
educators. Campbell et al. (2022) found that some international educators did not consider
the sector to have a dominant role in creating the climate crisis, pointing to corporations and
policy makers as bearing a heavy responsibility (denial of responsibility). The Campbell et al.
(2022) study also found that some international educators considered the benefits of their
work to be worth the environmental cost (compensation with benefits). Cognitive dissonance
theory has been applied widely outside the domain of higher education related to various
populations’ climate change attitudes and air travel behaviours. These studies consistently
found that individuals employed cognitive dissonance reduction strategies to justify continued
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travel by air. This was the case with climate-conscious and highly-mobile urbanites in Iceland
(Árnadóttir et al., 2021), self-proclaimed green consumers in the UK (McDonald et al., 2015),
even with sustainability scientists in Germany (Schrems & Upham, 2020). Additionally,
academics in Australia expressed fear of being penalised professionally if they did not travel
(Nursey-Bray et al., 2019). Similarly, one article offered a formal expression of the author’s
discomfort with her own academic air travel in the context of climate change (Grant, 2018).
Wynes et al. (2019) examined the impact of academic activities using air travel on professional
success and found limited positive benefits.
The sustainability scientists interviewed by Schrems and Upham (2020) emphasised the
inconsistency between institutional sustainability objectives and practice by arguing that
global education programs contradict incorporating systematic air travel reductions. There is a
growing body of evidence that IE practitioners would agree. While being in favour of reducing
emissions, they simultaneously grapple with the challenges of doing so. The study by
Campbell, Nguyen and Stewart (2022) highlights these tensions within the sector. Also, a
recent report surveying senior administrators responsible for internationalisation at
universities in the UK identified that 95.4% of respondents considered climate action and
carbon reduction as extremely or very important (Desai & Morlely, 2022). At the same time
the report highlighted significant challenges in reducing international education related
emissions, such as ‘one size fits all’ policies that do not address varied organisational needs,
high student demand for international opportunities, limited travel coordination between
departments, lack of funding and a lack of mechanisms or commitments to measure GHG
reductions (Desai & Morlely, 2022).
The tensions between internationalisation of higher education and climate change exist at
both individual and organisational levels. The latter has been discussed by Glover et al. (2017,
2018) who highlight tensions between internationalisation and climate considerations by
exploring university strategies and concluding that the conflict between HEI’s ambitions to
reduce emissions from air travel “are discordant with broader policies and strategic
orientations around international mobility” (Glover et al., 2017, p. 1). Rumbley (2020)
addresses the “profoundly important, and ironically contradictory, truths” where
internationalisation of higher education “contributes directly to the climate degradation we
are witnessing all around us. At the same time, international collaboration in higher education
can and must play an active role in addressing this planetary crisis” (p. 32). These types of
tensions between sustainability and other organisational objectives seem to be pertinent to
the work of all types of organisations (c.f., Byl & Slawinski, 2015; Hahn et al., 2014, 2018;
2019; Nikula, 2022; Siltaloppi et al., 2020), including those in the higher education sector,
which must balance economic and social sustainability considerations alongside
environmental objectives (van Gaalen, 2020).
The Role of Networks and Associations
Within the IE ecosystem, numerous associations, individual HEIs, and other organisations are
driving climate and sustainability action. For instance, many associations and key bodies have
included climate change or environmental sustainability as a topic in their conferences.
Prominent examples include the European Association for International Education (EAIE), the
Australian International Education Conference (AIEC), the New Zealand International
Education Conference (NZIEC), the Asia-Pacific Association for International Education (APAIE),
the International Education Association of South Africa (IEASA), the Brazilian Association for
International Education (FAUBAI), and the Canadian Bureau of International Education (CBIE).
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NAFSA: Association of International Educators (2021) has published a discussion paper on the
topic and the Forum on Education Abroad (2021) has developed guidelines to align the
standards of good practice for education abroad with the United Nations Sustainable
Development Goals and contracted a book on the topic. The EAIE (2017, 2022) dedicated a
special issue of their member magazine to the topic of environmental sustainability and has
taken measures to mitigate emissions from its annual conference including planting a forest.
Furthermore, evidence is growing that academics, staff, and students are taking climate action
by reducing travel by air, for instance through an organisation called Flying Less1 and the
Erasmus by train project2.
The Climate Action Network for International Educators
One organisation that is fully focusing on advocacy for climate action across the IE sector is
The Climate Action Network for International Educators (CANIE). CANIE is a non-profit
grassroots initiative formed by international educators across three continents with the
objective of raising the sector’s collective awareness and response to climate change. Since its
start in 2019, CANIE has organised global summits and regional events where academics and
practitioners have shared their expertise and insights on various topics at the intersection of
climate change and internationalisation of higher education. Other initiatives include the
development of an accord on climate action (CANIE, 2022) and a campaign promoting green
conference travelling.
A tenet of cognitive dissonance theory that may be at play when considering the CANIE case
study is that of dissonance from going against social norms, or nomothetic dissonance
(McDonald et al., 2015; Schrems & Upham, 2020). The experiences made possible by long-
haul air travel are central to the work of international education and highly enjoyable to many
practitioners. As a result, the sector has a well-established, deeply-rooted social norm that
celebrates travel by air (De Jonge Akademie, 2020). The international educator who previously
confronted the dilemma of either suffering the dissonance between their climate concerns
and travelling by air (i.e. idiographic dissonance), or being judged as odd for not flying (i.e.
nomothetic dissonance), can be relieved of the latter through the supportive network that
CANIE provides.
In addition to creating a community of practice, CANIE’s core activities are aimed at
encouraging international educators to take action in support of decarbonising the sector.
These activities may also reduce discomfort from cognitive dissonance by altering discordant
attitudes and behaviours. To this end, CANIE suggests achievable actions such as introducing
policies to incentivise travel by train, reducing business travel by replacing in-person meetings
with teleconferencing, increasing transnational education (TNE) with local teaching staff,
virtual exchange including collaborative online international learning (COIL), and
internationalisation at home (IaH) (CANIE, 2022).
Additionally, CANIE may be narrowing the cognitive divide between climate action and
internationalisation of higher education by supporting the notion that internationalisation
activities may lead to climate solutions. Recall that adding, or increasing the importance of,
consonant cognitions is one way to reduce dissonance between cognitions (Harmon-Jones &
Mills, 2019). CANIE may achieve this, for instance, by sharing research examining potential
1 https://sites.tufts.edu/flyingless/
2 https://erasmusbytrain.eu/
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benefits of international and intercultural experience to addressing climate and sustainability
issues. A note of caution, such findings can potentially increase dissonance as international
educators may feel that the balance slides towards internationalisation as the main value at
the cost of environmental sustainability. This could lead to positioning internationalisation as
a way to study sustainability solutions as a pretext for unsustainable travel. Supportive
communities of practice, such as CANIE, provide avenues for actively exploring such tensions.
The CANIE Accord.
CANIE directs advocacy for climate action at leaders in the higher education sector. For
example, its members organised a Leaders Forum in parallel with COP263 in Glasgow where
fifty-seven leaders across the sector discussed how international higher education ought to
tackle climate change. The key discussion points were used as the basis for drafting the
Glasgow Paper (CANIE, 2022b) and related Climate Action Accord (CANIE, 2022a). Both
documents aim to align internationalisation of higher education with science-based
decarbonisation targets while centring climate justice in solutions. The documents were
reviewed, critiqued, and edited by key experts and other stakeholders before publication.
Attendees of the Leaders Forum and contributors to the subsequent documents expressed
positive feelings resulting from working across the sector to arrive at climate solutions. This
suggests that the collaboration reduced the discomfort of conflicting attitudinal and
behavioural cognitions.
The CANIE Accord (2022a) is a non-binding memorandum of understanding applicable to
internationalisation of higher education providers and other relevant stakeholders such as
colleges and universities, international departments within broader organisations,
membership associations, government agencies, and conference organisers. It contains a list
of seventy climate actions in five categories: 1) leadership and influencing, 2) emissions
accounting and reduction, 3) travel, 4) facilities, operations, and procurement, and 5) climate
education. Each of the climate actions is assigned an ambition level of “basic”, “better”, or
“best” to allow all organisations, regardless of their starting point, to participate while
simultaneously encouraging the highest possible level of ambition. Signatories to the CANIE
Accord select at least five climate actions that are appropriate and achievable within their
organisational context. This approach supports reduction of cognitive dissonance by offering a
range of climate action initiatives in small steps.
Within the leadership area, signatories commit to using their authority and reach to influence
policies and practices within and beyond their own organisations. For instance, by
“embed[ding] climate action in organisational missions and strategies, policies and
frameworks including official strategic documents” (CANIE, 2022a p. 3) or revising policies to
incorporate estimated GHG emissions in program assessment decisions.
Within the emissions accounting and reduction section, signatories are encouraged to
establish a baseline year as a reference point for GHG reduction progress and to determine a
context-appropriate method for measuring emissions. This section also calls upon signatories
to begin measuring and, above all, reducing emissions from their operations and activities.
In the section of the CANIE Accord that addresses travel, signatories may agree to reduce
travel by replacing physical meetings with online meetings, incentivising lower carbon means
of travel via revisions to travel policies and considering alternative internationalisation modes,
3 Conference of the Parties (COP) is the United Nations annual climate change conference. The number
(26) means that this was the 26th annual conference.
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such as virtual mobility and transnational education with local teaching staff. This section is
supported by increased attention in the literature on the negative climate impacts of
international student mobility (Shields, 2019) and actions to reduce them (Desai & Morlely,
2022).
Many opportunities to reduce emissions exist within IE facilities management, operations, and
procurement practices. Examples of actions include retrofitting offices for increased energy
efficiency, reducing – or eliminating – printing and shipping of marketing materials, and
introducing climate considerations into procurement criteria.
Finally, and in support of Reilley and Senders’ (2009) call for “critical study abroad”, the
climate education section of the CANIE Accord contains items to encourage international
educators to provide opportunities for fostering climate literacy among students, staff and
other stakeholders. This can be accomplished via training modules for internationally mobile
students, commissioning research projects on the intersections of internationalisation of
higher education and climate action, or supporting staff in increasing their climate literacy.
The appetite for coordinated climate action across the sector is demonstrated by the CANIE
Accord signatories gathered in the first few months, which include key international education
associations, universities, and other prominent actors4. However, many of these signatories
were among the leaders forum’s participants who were involved in the drafting or editing of
the Accord. It remains to be seen if other organisations will be as interested in signing up. As
an all-volunteer-run organisation, CANIE is able to increase awareness and climate action
across the IE sector because it is composed of practitioners and academics who are also part
of the global IE ecosystem. While CANIE is a distinct legal entity, it consists of individuals
representing focussed and broad organisations, institutions, and associations across the
sector.
The first version of the CANIE Accord represents a coordinated approach that may advance
climate action across the sector. However, it is not without limitations. For instance,
considering the urgency of the climate crisis, it may be problematic that signatories are not
required to reduce their GHG emissions, but can commit to other types of climate actions.
Furthermore, metrics and mechanisms to verify commitments do not currently exist making it
possible for signatories to commit to specific climate actions without genuine intentions to
follow through.
Discussion
This article explored the intersection of climate change and internationalisation of higher
education via the lens of cognitive dissonance theory suggesting that the efforts of networks
and associations, such as CANIE, have the potential to increase and decrease cognitive
dissonance among practitioners. This article makes a contribution to the current body of
literature by enhancing the theory-informed understanding of the tensions and drivers of
climate change across the international higher education sector. This theoretical basis has
practical consequences for advancing climate action. Namely, cognitive dissonance theory can
help identify interventions to increase or decrease tension to inspire changes in attitude and
behaviour that aid decarbonisation efforts.
4 https://canie.org/the-canie-accord/signatory-listing
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Our review of the literature highlights specific gaps in the body of knowledge. Primarily,
additional studies building on existing calculations of GHG emissions from the international
higher education sector are needed. Research in this area could refine and expand existing
calculations of global emissions by exploring specific country contexts, domestic and
international travel patterns during study, emissions from visits from friends/family, and
differences in host-home country emission consumption patterns (Davies & Dunk, 2015; Hale,
2019; Shields, 2019). Moreover, a holistic understanding would require an in-depth analysis of
many areas such as emissions from faculty and staff travel, recruitment efforts, buildings,
technology, marketing techniques and emission differences between traditional and
alternative internationalisation modes, such as transnational education with local staff or
virtual mobility (Versteijlen et al., 2017).
HEI organisational responses to cognitive dissonance also warrant further investigation, as do
the tensions between climate change and internationalisation and potential benefits of the
tension to prompt pro-climate behaviour change. Future research could engage in a more
nuanced exploration of the various cognitive dissonance paradigms and approaches
(c.f.,Harmon-Jones & Mills, 2019) based on primary data. Moreover, cross-sector and cross-
country comparisons could shed light on differences in cognitive dissonance experienced and
strategies applied by individuals and HEIs. Such studies could illuminate whether, and to what
extent, the varying key rationales for internationalisation (e.g., economic, political, socio-
cultural, educational) affect cognitive dissonance.
A more detailed investigation of the climate attitudes and behaviours of prospective and
current internationally mobile students, faculty, and staff with a particular focus on cognitive
dissonance and related strategies, would also be important. For example, empirical studies
employing variables (e.g. activities that foster climate literacy or engagement with a
supportive network) as interventions to inspire climate action would contribute to our
knowledge of activities that help or hinder climate action. The role of international education
supply chains in increasing or decreasing tensions between internationalisation activities and
climate-friendly outcomes also warrant further examination. Such studies could involve
stakeholders such as education agents (Desai & Morlely, 2022) and funding bodies such as
Fulbright, the European Commission, and UNESCO. Finally, the level of awareness of the
environmental impact of internationalisation activities among students, faculty, and staff in
higher education remains largely unexplored.
The existing literature suggests that an increase in nomothetic dissonance can produce large-
scale movements required to tackle global challenges (McDonald et al., 2015). Put simply, as
societal attitudes and behaviours shift toward prioritising climate solutions and
decarbonisation, individuals with opposing cognitions (e.g. a deeply-ingrained culture of air
travel) may feel pressure to acquiesce. From the nomothetic dissonance perspective, the case
study organisation, CANIE, is working to disrupt the historical social norm of mutual exclusivity
between internationalisation of higher education and climate action.
The advocacy role of IE networks and associations has increased awareness of tensions
between internationalisation and climate action across the sector. By contributing to
increased visibility and awareness, CANIE and others may be exposing individuals, who were
previously unaware of the sector’s negative climate impacts, to the uncomfortable reality that
systemic change within the sector is urgently needed. Clearly, the relevant communications by
media, governments, academics and bodies such as IPCC have contributed to this dissonance
by calling attention to the climate crisis and urgency of action. This heightened awareness in a
“business as usual” context creates cognitive dissonance and its resulting discomfort or
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tension. We argue that the drive to resolve this discomfort, as described by Festinger (1957),
can be leveraged toward meaningful climate action.
This article is not without potential for bias. The authors are closely connected to the
international higher education sector as well as the efforts to decarbonise it. The authors are
active volunteers within CANIE, and may be pre-dispositioned to have a positive view of its
work and effects. Acknowledging that such associations may skew objectivity, readers are
encouraged to consider this positionality in assessing the case study organisation. In addition,
the authors have aimed to provide a balanced picture of the case study by engaging in a
critical evaluation of the work of CANIE and positioning it as one of the many players
advocating for climate action in the sector.
Conclusion and Recommendations
The COVID-19 pandemic has proven that dramatic, rapid, and wide-spread change across all
sectors is possible. HEIs were forced to experiment with lower carbon modes of operating
international education such as online delivery, virtual exchanges, virtual recruitment, and
more. The COVID-19 pandemic also demonstrated that offering alternative approaches to
internationalisation may achieve meaningful results as effectively as certain forms of physical
mobility but with a much smaller environmental impact. Additionally, greener modes of
international higher education hold additional benefits such as increased student access. In
the context of the climate crisis, international educators are urged to consider not only the
benefits derived from international opportunities, such as ESD and career opportunities, but
also the climate costs accrued. For instance, sending faculty abroad to teach in joint
programmes, or other forms of transnational education, is more emission-intensive than
employing local teaching staff. However, sending home staff abroad may have a smaller
environmental cost compared to requiring a large number of students to travel
internationally. Carefully designed international opportunities may, in some instances,
outweigh the environmental costs attached.
Applying cognitive dissonance theory to better understand climate-related issues, solutions,
and behaviours across the sector may allow international education networks and
associations to influence individual and collective action to drive meaningful systemic change.
Rapidly decarbonising internationalisation activities in higher education would demonstrate to
current and prospective students that their demands for a livable future have been heard and
are helping to drive meaningful systemic change.
Uptake of the CANIE Accord is a promising sign that a sea change may be upon us. Yet, a
persistent “return to normal” approach, despite the COVID-19 pandemic offering more
efficient ways of operating, may prove challenging to overcome, particularly for individuals.
For instance, current systems that support international education, such as financial schemes,
were created on the premise of physical mobility, which continues to stimulate or even
require, face-to-face meetings where virtual or hybrid options exist. Consequently, individuals
may not be free to choose green mobility or forgo travel. Cognitive dissonance theory
provides international educators, who experience tension and discomfort because of their
work’s climate impacts, a framework to translate this tension into positive action. Taking steps
– large or small – to decarbonise IE, and influencing others to do the same, moves the sector
toward solutions while reducing individual and collective cognitive dissonance.
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