A climate researcher who was fired from his job for refusing to take a flight back from a work trip has been awarded compensation in court for unfair dismissal.
Gianluca Grimalda has been reducing his air travel since 2010. But in 2023, his employer, the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW) in Germany, terminated his contract after he refused to fly and expedite his travel from Papua New Guinea to Germany.
Grimalda said in a statement that the institute had approved his plan to return by “slow travel” from his field work in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. However, he was unable to appear on the agreed date due to “visa deferrals, security threats, volcano activity and other logistical impediments.”
The case became the first known instance of an employee being sacked for declining to ride an aircraft to reduce carbon emissions.
Grimalda told Mongabay by email that “slow travel” means avoiding plane rides, unless there’s no alternative. “However, sometimes it’s just a matter of time,” Grimalda said. “Sooner or later you’ll find a ship or some means of transport alternative to the plane. … I think I will never fly any more.”
His research trip in 2023 meant taking 40 days to travel from Europe to Bougainville and 72 days to return. According to his calculations, carbon emissions from this slow 28,000-kilometer (17,400-mile) round trip was 10 times lower than flying.
On Jan. 10, Grimalda and IfW agreed with the settlement proposed by the Kiel Regional Labor Court, which included an undisclosed severance amount and stated the contract was terminated “because of incompatible ideological convictions between the parties”. The court ordered IfW to exonerate Grimalda from any breach of contract.
Grimalda said he will donate 75,000 euros ($78,000) from his payment to environmental protection and climate activism.
Grimalda’s lawyer, Jörn A. Broschat said in the statement the case shows the “growing intersection between labor law and climate-conscious practices.” He said lawmakers and workers’ groups should consider the climate principles of employees as part of labor rights.
Grimalda said flying can contribute to 90% of a researcher’s personal carbon footprint. He added that while he does not want to detract from the responsibility of corporations and the rich, “people trust scientists, and scientists’ behavior can have broad ramifications across society.”
Academics “modifying their personal contribution to greenhouse gas emissions is an important way to demonstrate credibility,” French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) research director Wolfgang Cramer said in the statement.
Grimalda said he has mixed feelings about the win since he loved the job he lost. He has yet to find a new job but he plans to go back to Papua New Guinea to continue his research.
“I hope that my case will inspire more employees, institutions and companies to actively support the transition from fossil fuel-based economies to decarbonized and people-centered societies,” he said.
Banner image of Gianluca Grimalda on a cargo ship courtesy of Gianluca Grimalda.
This story first appeared on Mongabay
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