Estimates of the Carbon Impacts of Commute Travel Restrictions due to COVID-19 in the UK

Abstract

This paper explores the carbon impacts of the reductions in commute travel which resulted from restrictions placed on the general population in the UK. The article uses anonymised and aggregated mobile data for the period February 2020 to June 2020 to understand how commute trips changed spatially. This has been linked to journey length and emissions data to produce estimates of the consequent reductions in CO2 (an average range of 17-60%). At a local level, the key factors that contributed to substantial CO2 reductions were high car ownership, paired with the prevalence of specific industrial employment types that could readily transition from a desk-based work to virtual working.