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This paper adds to our understanding of how people's climate change concern and norms influence their leisure air travel. It does so by examining the roles of Norwegians' beliefs about climate change and emissions from air travel, their felt responsibility to limit emissions (personal norm), and expectations and behaviors of friends and family (social norms) in such travel. A representative sample of Norwegians was surveyed in 2019 and 2020 (N = 2842), based on a framework combining institutional and social-psychological perspectives. Structural equation modeling of the data reveals that leisure air travel is habituated and part of a lifestyle, supported by social norms, self-enhancement values and urban residency. Personal norms for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from flying are beginning to emerge in Norway, but their effect on leisure air travel is small and only indirect. Our findings suggest the need for interventions to complement and potentially amplify the emerging moralization process and support an evolution of new habits and travel lifestyle to limit the emissions from leisure air travel substantially. The disruption of travel habits by the COVID-19 pandemic might ease such a process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we discuss if existing political and economic institutions can ensure sustainable futures. We do so by combining a global outlook with more specifically examining the situation in China. Present institutions foster growth, they are however weak at motivating actions that keep economies within an environmentally safe and socially just space. We especially note the challenges that strong focus on growth combined with ex post environmental regulations create for natural systems with tipping-points. In this situation, there is a need to change institutions to ensure strong emphasis on long-term sustainability as opposed to short term economic surplus. Regarding political decision-making, we discuss ways to break short-termism through strengthening public deliberation as well as formalizing political responsibility for the future. Regarding economic institutions, we emphasize the need to widen the goals of firms including responsibilities for environmental qualities. The latter may demand changes in ownership structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article critically analyzes institutional change as a consequence of humanitarian intervention in the tsunami-affected Nicobar Islands in India. It shows that the state and aid agencies distributed resources on the basis of formal rules and norms different from those observed by the Nicobarese. This has created social upheaval by diminishing the stature of the joint family system and imparting greater agency to political representatives. Written communication has overridden the sanctity of the spoken word. Younger, educated Nicobarese, especially men, have been privileged by the new institutional arrangements and are active participants in social change. Thus, humanitarian intervention has resulted in shifting relationships of power and equity. Moreover, the ecological consequences appear to be unsustainable. The article suggests the need for enhanced sensitivity to cultural specificities and inherent human capacity in designing humanitarian intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]