Changed travel patterns

WHAT: According to a study conducted at KTH, where they studied employees’ travel patterns during the pandemic, in both large and small municipalities and towns, and in different types of organizations, researchers in larger metropolitan municipalities could see a reduced number of kilometers by car in commuting with 19% from 2019 to 2020. At the same time, surprising results were seen in smaller municipalities and towns, where work commuting by car increased in the number of kilometers by 19 and 24% respectively. In addition, a study in Nature shows how virtual and hybrid conferences have the potential to reduce emissions effectively.

SO WHAT: The pandemic has led people to largely avoid traveling by public transport. As compensation, some organizations have offered, for example, free parking in cases where work from home has been difficult. There have also been obstacles for many to work from home due to the nature of the job, including in socially important services. In Sweden, carbon dioxide emissions decreased by almost a third per capita in the metropolitan municipalities in 2020, and increased by four percent in the smaller municipalities, which still indicates that increased telework or work closer to home will lead to reduced carbon dioxide emissions in a more flexible future working life. Taken together with the trend towards virtual conference forms, this will be able to help us achieve the global emissions targets.

https://www.mistra.org/nyhet/resebeteenden-i-sparen-av-covid-19-forvanar/
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-27251-2.pdf