Martin Jégard (PSAE) with Rainald Borck (Uni. Potsdam), Efthymia Kyriakopoulou (AUEB) and Pierre M. Picard (U. of Luxembourg)
Is working from home (WFH) good for the environment? The rise of remote work has raised questions about its environmental and urban impacts. While reduced commuting can lower emissions, increased residential energy use and shifts in spatial patterns complicate its overall effects. In this paper, we develop a quantitative spatial model of Swedish cities incorporating sector-specific remote work adoption, commuting modes, and residential choices. We find that remote work leads to reductions in aggregate emissions, primarily driven by decreased commuting, even though trip distances become longer. Emissions from floorspace rise only marginally; residential emissions increase due to larger dwellings and the additional dedicated space required for WFH, while emissions from commercial floorspace decline. These opposing effects largely offset each other. Overall, the decrease in commuting-related emissions dominates, and WFH leads to a net reduction in CO2 emissions.