Economy White Paper Series

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented shift in commuting and mobility patterns worldwide, something that has led to a false perception that the pandemic may be a boon to greenhouse gas reduction. Our new white paper examines California’s GHG emissions before and after the viral outbreak and finds that despite significantly less road traffic in the state, long run emissions reductions are not likely to result from the crisis.

The analysis concludes that while there will probably be a long term reduction in commuting to and from work, the resulting drop in GHG emissions will be small. Additionally, the pandemic may pose a long-term risk to shared mobility, a cornerstone of California’s emissions reduction strategy.