Short run “rebound effect” of COVID on the transport carbon footprint

• Published in: Cities Vol. 131; p. 104039
• Main Authors: Rojas, Carolina, Muñiz, Iván, Quintana, Marc, Simon, Francois, Castillo, Bryan, de la Fuente, Helen, Rivera, Joaquín, Widener, Michael
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-12-2022
• Subjects: Carbon footprint; Covid-19 cities; Mobility; Covid-19 cities; Mobility; Carbon footprint
• ISSN: 0264-2751; 1873-6084; 0264-2751
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2022.104039

The COVID-19 pandemic completely transformed the mobility of cities. The restrictions on movement led to “empty cities” throughout the world, with some environmental effects in terms of clean air and the reduction of CO2 emissions. This research considers how COVID-19 mobility restrictions have affected the carbon footprint of four medium-sized Chilean cities (Coronel, Temuco, Valdivia, and Osorno) that have environmental problems and are highly dependent on motorized systems. The study uses data from 2400 household surveys at three distinct times: pre-pandemic - T0 (winter 2019), the time of implementation of restrictive mobility policies to contain the pandemic - T1 (winter 2020), and six months later when those restrictions were gradually lifted - T2 (summer 2021). The analysis suggests that CO2 emissions actually went up, declining in the winter 2020, but then increasing with the greater use of cars in the summer 2021 due to the temporary effects of commuting to work, ultimately reaching levels higher than the pre-pandemic values, known as the “rebound effect.”
•There is a lack of data on COVID-19 impact on carbon footprint at household level in Latin-American cities•Survey of Transport mobilities from 2400 households in four Chilean cities in three times (T0), (T1) and (T2)•CO2 emissions from transport by work and study mobilities were estimated•CO2 emissions actually went up, declining in the winter, but then increasing with use of cars in summer due to commuting to work•CO2 emissions to reach levels higher than the pre-pandemic values, known as a “rebound effect”