A climate researcher claims he has been dismissed for refusing to fly back to Germany from Bougainville, off the coast of Papua New Guinea, as instructed by his company. Gianluca Grimalda has spent the last six months researching the effects of climate change and globalization on the island's residents. He is currently waiting in Bougainville for a cargo ship that is scheduled to leave on October 7, 2023. The people Grimalda met while conducting his field research—some of whom had been displaced by rising waters—had been told he would minimize his carbon emissions on his return trip. Grimalda has avoided flying for more than ten years.
The Kiel Institute for Worldwide Economy (IfW) managers, however, gave him a deadline to get back to his desk two weeks ago, forcing him to fly if he wanted to keep his job. He said that after refusing, his contract was terminated on October 11, 2023.
In the Anthropocene period, the most significant Earth ecosystems are on the verge of collapse, if not already gone, and IfW appears to overlook this, according to Grimalda. IfW's policy of not discussing or commenting on employee matters in public was upheld, according to a representative for the organization. The representative stated that the institute "generally encourages and supports its staff to travel climate-friendly." "We are devoted to avoiding air travel as much as possible in Germany and other EU nations. We pay Atmosfair to offset aircraft emissions through climate conservation projects when flights are unavoidable.