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Does Staying at Home during the COVID-19 Pandemic Help Reduce CO 2 Emissions?

Author

Listed:
  • Kentaka Aruga

    (Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Saitama University, 255 Shimo-Okubo, Sakura-ku, Saitama 338-8570, Japan)

  • Md. Monirul Islam

    (Department of Agricultural Economics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh 2202, Bangladesh
    Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8572, Japan)

  • Arifa Jannat

    (Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8572, Japan
    Institute of Agribusiness and Development Studies, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh 2202, Bangladesh)

Abstract

Quarantining at home during the COVID-19 pandemic significantly restricted human mobility such as visits to parks, grocery stores, workplaces, retail places, and transit stations. In this research, we analyzed how the changes in human mobility during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, from February to April 2020 (i.e., between 17 February and 30 April 2020), affected the daily CO 2 emissions for countries having a high number of coronavirus cases at that time. Our daily time-series analyses indicated that when average hours spent at home increased, the amount of daily CO 2 emissions declined significantly. The findings suggest that for all three countries (the US, India, and France), a 1% increase in the average duration spent in residential areas reduced daily CO 2 emissions by 0.17 Mt, 0.10 Mt, and 0.01 Mt, respectively, during the first wave period. Thus, confining people into their homes contributes to cutting down CO 2 emissions remarkably. However, the study also reveals those activities such as visiting parks and going grocery shopping increase CO 2 emissions, suggesting that unnecessary human mobility is undesirable for the environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Kentaka Aruga & Md. Monirul Islam & Arifa Jannat, 2021. "Does Staying at Home during the COVID-19 Pandemic Help Reduce CO 2 Emissions?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-13, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:15:p:8534-:d:605218
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Kentaka Aruga, 2022. "Impact of the Number of Hours Spent at Home on the Volume of Municipal Waste Generated: Evidence from Tokyo during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-10, May.
    2. Kentaka Aruga & Md. Monirul Islam & Arifa Jannat, 2022. "Effects of the State of Emergency during the COVID-19 Pandemic on Tokyo Vegetable Markets," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-16, August.

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