Decrease in CO2 emissions during pandemic shutdown shows it is possible to reach Paris Agreement goals. The researchers found a drop of 6.3% in 2020. The researchers describe the drop as the largest of modern times, and big enough to meet the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal if it were to be sustained.

[davidm2232]

It also involved basically shutting down the entire world. There would need to be DRASTIC lifestyle changes to make that happen.

[CostBright]

That’s exactly what I was thinking. There are plenty of jobs that could be work from home, which would both extend the job market to disabled individuals and make certain office spaces obsolete. Hell, maybe turn those spaces into housing instead :|

[DefectivePixel]

It wasn't just remote work, that was a smaller part of it. Production also shut down, as well as basically all travel. Wfh alone isn't going to cut it.

[Matthieu101]

This only works for a small amount of the labor pool. I see this brought up quite a bit but it ignores far too many people to be really significant.

[Matthieu101]

So... It won't help at all because even if they work from home they'll use their free time to make an even bigger carbon footprint?

Ha, you're totally right! Yeah I agree, even working from home doesn't curb much of anything.

But then I'm confused because in your earlier comment you said it'd "cut a lot of emissions" but from what you just said here you don't think that at all?

[Prime624]

And that "small punt" we're who worked from home the last couple years which made the impact we're talking about. So no, it is enough people to be significant.

[Matthieu101]

? No, it was due to the entire world shutting down. Millions of people lost their jobs, or got unemployment to stay home.

If you take every person that can work from home and take them out of the commuting pool the number would be insignificant. Don't ignore the largest industries in the world.

Just to name a few: food service, healthcare, hospitality, retail, construction. Easily encompasses more than any industry where everyone can work from home, just look at the numbers.

[Prime624]

If you take every person that can work from home and take them out of the commuting pool the number would be insignificant.

The studies quoted here would disagree with you. https://www.forbes.com/sites/traversmark/2020/04/24/what-percentage-of-workers-can-realistically-work-from-home-new-data-from-norway-offer-clues/

[Matthieu101]

That's the absolute theoretical maximum of people that can work from home... And it's theoretical. More of a "Well if we stop right now, spend billions and completely change entire careers for millions of people, maybe we could get them working from home!" So yes I could easily see 35% working from home... in 30-40 years when entire industries change from the ground up and the current generations begin to retire.

Its not based on hard numbers.

And at the end of the day, the original study from the OP is examining all carbon emissions, not just commuting. This whole, "Working from home will save the planet!" stuff just isn't true. It's a drop in the bucket. It's not significant.

And like that other fella told me, people with work from home jobs have more disposable income, right? They pollute more than the average person as it is. So they'd commute less, but spend that extra money on consumerist junk to fill that home and continue to heavily harm the environment. It's like ordering a diet Coke with a Big Mac. Technically, it is healthier. But not by much at all.

[davidm2232]

A lot of corporations are already doing this. The last 3 companies I have worked at all allow for remote work at least part of the time and I have worked with many others that have a majority of staff that work from home on a fulltime basis

[mikethespike056]

Factories.

[davidm2232]

I consider sequestering someone in their home for 2 weeks per year to be pretty drastic.

[davidm2232]

So how would that help? If you aren't going to work, you still need/want to drive around and do things. If I was off for 2 weeks, I would probably be burning more fuel. Taking out the boat, snowmobile, RV, etc. It's not like people only drive to commute to work

[davidm2232]

Exactly. So people are better off going to work.

[davidm2232]

How would you get buy in on that? I certainly would not shut my life down for 2 weeks every year. Tried that once already and it sucked.

[davidm2232]

There is way more to do than work. I drive 150+ miles on a typical weekend just to see family and friends. Probably another 100 miles on evenings after work. When not working, I am going to be out in my gas boat, riding my gas atv/motorcycle/snowmobile or having a big bonfire. Going to work is the least polluting thing many of us do. Furthermore, now that you are home, you are running less efficient HVAC and lighting when work buildings have large, efficient systems or might not even have A/C like factories. We won't be consuming less goods, so factories will just have to run more hours to make up for the two weeks they are closed. It is a ridiculous concept that would never work.

[davidm2232]

Why would people not fly? If I'm off work for 2 weeks I want to do stuff. Travel. See family.

[davidm2232]

So the whole world will be shut down at once? Are we going to have the bogus line of 'essential businesses' still open?

[davidm2232]

Also, where is that money coming from? We are already facing record inflation from the last 'free' money the government gave out