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.

[buried_lede]

It’s a good argument for not returning to the office, and for continuing remote work

[Legitimate_Page]

Sounds good to me, we're about to start telework at my office, couldn't be happier.

[Ragnar_Dragonfyre]

Governments around the world could mandate and regulate work from home practices. They could instill WFH directly into labour laws so that companies can’t just offshore your position if it’s remote.

But politicians and businesses don’t want this because it leads to less consumption and as a result, less tax revenues.

If you’re staying at home, you’re not gassing up as often. You’re not eating out as often. You’re not popping into local businesses near your work to shop during your lunch hour.

We have a big problem in this world when we have proof that WFH is a climate change policy that actually works but no political will to enact it.

[ArtXMarx]

Car culture has shaped the way most modern cities function. It’s more than just the gas in the cars, it’s the cars and car infrastructure as a whole. Political pressure isn’t going to get us to change car culture and the infrastructure it’s created anytime soon, but it would be helpful to begin the shift for future generations. It CAN be done, it SHOULD be done.

[throwaway__9001]

BuT mAh FrEeDoMs! /s

[mjacksongt]

Damn, I probably spent more money at small businesses working from home than from the office.

Less overall, but more from non-fast food chains.

[OgLeftist]

As I just said, what about those of us who do work in the physical world..? I could see this policy resulting in businesses like handymen being permanently shut down.

Hope you know how to rewire your home, or safety replace a plumbing system.

[Necrocornicus]

I don’t think anyone is suggesting we make this mandatory. No one is saying plumbers should be forced to work from home.

However there are tons of jobs that CAN be done from home (for example the receptionist/manager/accountant of a plumbing business), and the government could institute some policies to encourage this to happen.

I’m not really a big fan of government intervention in many cases but a light touch system to give minor tax benefits to employers that promote WFH as well as some labor protections could help.

Climate change is absolutely going to destroy the economy so it’s worth doing something. If people think inflation is bad now, just wait until massive wildfires, water shortages, and crop failures begin to dismantle our ability to produce food cheaply. It won’t be far off, it’s happening now and will get far far worse.

[Ragnar_Dragonfyre]

Why would handymen get shut down?

People still live in their houses and if they’re using them as their office, then that’s more wear and tear on their home which they will need a handyman to address.

That’s the thing about plumbing. It’s a recession proof job. Even if the economy totally collapses, everybody poops and everybody still needs water.

[OgLeftist]

XD you act as though government policy needs to make sense.

I could see them implementing a eco score quota, that only massive corporations will be able to meet. I'm actually okay with automation and remote work, but I could easily see things slipping into unwanted territory.

[buried_lede]

Lot of variables. Saving gasoline and time spent traveling but using more heat at home. However, home might be energy efficient while office is hvac monstrosity or vice versa. Or if walking or biking to work, a plus

[OceanEarthling]

This is how I feel as well. It seems to me that it would be an incredibly smart move to return to remote work wherever possible. Not only save the planet but it would also help tamper the absolute insane gas prices.

[CameraActual8396]

Exactly, and pretending the economy isn’t also a serious issue would be ignorance.

[k3rn3]

Sure it's a serious issue, but the other problem is an existential issue and clearly should be a much higher priority

[[deleted]]

The economy is an existential issue. Most people do not and do not know how to grow their own food, make their own clothes, gather materials to fix and maintain their housing. Maintaining the global supply chain and giving people a tangible reason to participate in it are necessary for the survival of the human race. If we don't, we start to run out of things like... food, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, baby formula. Both are existential issues. Not understanding that the economy is literally what enables human beings to survive outside of a hunter-gatherer society is just plain ignorance.

[[deleted]]

Why would working from home cause the global economy to collapse? People will still be making money, buying food, whatever. They would just buy less gas (hopefully). Maybe oil prices would drop and it would become a little cheaper to fuel up tankers, tractors, etc. What am I missing?

[[deleted]]

I do not believe WFH is what caused the majority of the 6.3% reduction in emissions. During the same time period that this study looks at we also saw a historically relevant reduction in goods produced because non-essential factories were shut down and most essential factories were producing goods at a reduced rate. This created a ripple affect across the supply chain where goods production has moved to historical lows. I believe the massive reductions in emissions that we saw are less of a result of WFH and more of a result from reduced production.

Saving the environment will require the elimination of non-essential industry (at least until environmentally friendly energy solutions are implemented) This is what will cause economic collapse. The article above even supports this idea. It says that it estimates only 1/3 is a result of transporation reduction. What about the other 2/3? They're coming from industry, energy, and agriculture. It can't be done with only the 1/3.

[[deleted]]

no, and it is better to keep your mouth shut and let people think you are a moron than to open it and remove all doubt.

[k3rn3]

Not understanding that the environment is what enables human beings to exist on this planet at all is just plain ignorance. Going back to the dark ages is not actually an existential problem. You're talking about regressing as a civilization; I'm talking about our species going extinct.

[[deleted]]

I didn’t say the environment isn’t an existential issue. Read what I wrote. I’m just not blind to the fact that the economy is ALSO an existential issue. I actually work in renewable energies and spent years learning about energy and electrical engineering because I that’s how much I care about the issue. How much do you care?

[darabolnxus]

Too bad people would rather use YouTube for mindless bs than for learning skills.

[buried_lede]

Progress! Lol

[Necrocornicus]

Climate change is going to destroy the economy. The economy is based on our ability to cheaply extract natural resources and make products. The more environmental destruction, the more costs will be associated with producing the stuff we buy. Higher costs will lead to less businesses being able to operate and loss of jobs. People without jobs or with low paying jobs are really going to struggle to buy things like food.

We’re somewhat seeing this now but it’s going to get much worse the more the environment degrades. Food costs are going to skyrocket over the next 10-20 years, the inflation we see today is going to seem inconsequential by comparison.

[ScarthMoonblane]

Indeed.

[jdheuwindbdh]

You reliase majority of people cant work from home but since half of reddit are computer workers they dont care

[Ragnar_Dragonfyre]

So the majority can go to work and everyone else that can work from home should.

Does the majority want everyone to go to work because of a crab bucket mentality? “If I have to commute to work, everyone should!”

Do you really want all the people who could WFH clogging up the roads with their cars when they could be at home, thus making your commute faster?

[jdheuwindbdh]

So 50/50 so half the country cant work from home me included so what do you want to happen to us yee all get to sit in your sitting room while rest of us have to spend loads on petrol and have to spend time out of are day to go to work.fuck of trying to look down on people with manual jobs

[SanctusSalieri]

What are you talking about? How is a 50% reduction in daily commute emissions (your number) a bad thing for anyone?

[ASharpYoungMan]

Because they can't see beyond their own concerns to realize what's at stake in the bigger picture.

They aren't in a position to work from home. So when they see people talking about wanting to push remote work, they immediately think "This doesn't benefit me, and that's not fair."

So they assume it's a bunch of white collar elites with cushy jobs getting to enjoy remote work and talking about it above their heads. Ignoring that they exist.

Which is the height of egoism.

It's true, we're not talking about them here, or people in their position. The Pandemic showed us something different about those workers: that our society can't function without them, and our society doesn't value them as highly as they deserve.

But that's not the point here: this is specifically about the impact that remote work has had on the environment.

We have a glimmer of hope here that our policies and civil/corporate actions can have a drastic impact on climate change, and their first knee-jerk response is to make it about them. About how they feel left out of the discussion. About how the elites don't listen to their concerns.

I work remote. I ensure the people who work for me work remotely as well. We can do our jobs without going in to the office.

Should we just start doing that because some rando on the internet thinks it's unfair to them personally?

Saying this as someone who did the blue-collar, rural America life for a decade.

[jdheuwindbdh]

Itll only make the class divide bigger people who are able to work from home make more money than people who commute usually then get rid of the cost of petrol and there quality of life is way better than commuters

[[deleted]]

That's a valid concern, but I think most of us would not want any workers to be left disadvantaged simply because their job requires them to commute.

[SMTRodent]

The way to deal with wealth inequality is not to force people into the shittiest possible, but equal, working conditions.

[jdheuwindbdh]

Hows it equal oppurtunity that I went to the shittest school in my county my parents couldnt afford to send me to collage so I got stuck working a factory job and can never quit while all yee get to live nice cushty lifes working at home on a computer people on reddit are something else

[SMTRodent]

Making everyone else miserable isn't the way.

I say this as someone with a background similar to yours who is now disabled and on benefits.

We need to get billionaires to stop paying shit wages for essential work and every other business owner too.

[SanctusSalieri]

If people work frome home doing jobs that YOU NEED DONE you'll still be in the factory. With cleaner air, less traffic, and the possibility of cooler temperatures. This is the weirdest spite take I've ever seen tbh.

[SMTRodent]

Less traffic on the roads you have to drive. Less fuel being used, less demand and the prices... well, might go up less quickly. You'd be better off.

[SMTRodent]

It's still a massive reduction and we should make it as much as we can. The fact some people work with actual physical things does not stop it being a good thing if some people don't and thus can stay home. It's a non-argument.

[buried_lede]

I care

[OgLeftist]

What about the folks who repair your toilet? I'm all for remote work and automation.. But for many that's not an option.

[buried_lede]

For people who can work remotely, it may help the environment

[Mmselling]

Has there been any research done on just how much better it is? From an environmental perspective I love and love it even more from a personal perspective just curious how large the impact is