Abstract
The research sector is responsible for greenhouse gas emissions, with variations in France between disciplines, laboratories and individuals beyond an apparent consensus on climate change and the transformations in research practices it requires. This paper explores the specificities of research conducted in partnership with the global South, which is strongly represented in Montpellier and relies a lot on air travail to/from partner countries. To do so, we use a methodology combining an online questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and a theatre-forum play. This original combination of approaches allows us to highlight that research conducted in partnership with the global South implies, on the one hand, a continuum of individual travel practices, and on the other, a widely shared expectation of reducing this sector’s carbon footprint, but with varied views on how and at with level (individual, collective, institutional) to promote more sober research. The study also reveals that numerous factors influence existing individual limitations of travel to the global South, with personal ones often prevailing over environmental thinking. We argue that these personal situations and realities must be taken into account in future adjustments of research policies, while spaces of dialogue are necessary to co-construct North-South research partnerships that are both more sustainable and more equitable.