Virtual mobility reduces environmental impact
Experts from the Umweltbundesamt (Environment Agency Austria) and motivation and mobility researchers have examined potential effects of virtual mobility on actual traffic volumes in the project PoviMob. Their findings show that increased home working, teleconferencing and online shopping can, in the short term, lead to a reduction of up to 2.8 % in transport-related greenhouse gas emissions. The project’s final report has been available online since December 2020.
Digitisation enables mobility in virtual spaces, thereby reducing volumes of transport by road, rail or air. This virtual mobility, which already replaces many physical movements, will penetrate all areas of our lives to a greater or lesser extent in the years to come. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 accelerated the trend towards home working, teleconferencing or online shopping significantly.
The necessary building blocks are manifold - use their full potential
The transport sector is one of the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions in Austria – with a still increasing trend. To meet Austria’s climate targets, many building blocks need to be put in place to ensure that we are on a pathway to achieve necessary emission reductions in 2030 and beyond.
The project results show that virtual mobility offers considerable potential. Building on interviews with experts and public surveys in the autumn of 2019 and April 2020, calculations were performed for increased home working, teleconferencing and online shopping. It was found that by 2030, it would be possible to reduce transport volumes and thus achieve an emission reduction amounting to up to 2.8 % of the total transport-related greenhouse gas emissions (630 kt of CO2 equivalent). Increased home working offers the greatest potential (about 60 % of the reduction). In addition, a further reduction of 480 kt of CO2 equivalent could be achieved by replacing international business trips with teleconferencing.
That the reduction potential can be significantly higher became evident in 2020. Conditions such as those during the Covid-19 pandemic, with a large number of people working from home and tight travel restrictions, go well beyond the assumptions underlying the PoviMob calculations.
Consider rebound effects
So-called rebound effects can imply that only part of the reduction potential is actually realised. The experts estimated that the emission reduction potential of virtual mobility could thus be significantly reduced (to about 240 kt of CO2 equivalent in 2030). An example of such rebound effects is for instance online shopping where, due to current structures and increased deliveries, practically no net reduction can be expected. However, rebound effects can be mitigated by taking targeted measures. A number of recommendations for such actions were developed in the PoviMob project.
Increased use of home working can bring other positive effects e.g. if working from home counteracts the depopulation of rural areas. Working from home can also have a stimulating effect on regional trade and on the development of “a city of short distances” and small-scale structures, as workspace and home increasingly merge into integrated living spaces and increased use is made of local infrastructures.
PoviMob
Can a reduction in trips to work, shopping centres or banks contribute to a long-term reduction in transport-related emissions? This was the question the mobility experts examined in the project PoviMob (potentials and effects of virtual mobility), with the Motivation & Mobility Research Institute Mag. Michael Praschl as their project partner, under the leadership of the Umweltbundesamt (Environment Agency Austria).
The PoviMob project was financed under the 12th “mobility of the future” call for tenders by the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK).
