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Implications of COVID-19 lockdowns on surface passenger mobility and related CO2 emission changes in Europe

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  • Schulte-Fischedick, Marta
  • Shan, Yuli
  • Hubacek, Klaus

Abstract

The coronavirus pandemic has severely affected our daily lives, with direct consequences on passenger transport. This in turn has strongly impacted the energy demand of the transport sector and associated CO2 emissions. We analyse near real-time passenger mobility and related emission trends in Europe between 21 January and 21 September 2020. We compiled a dataset of country-, sector- and lockdown- specific values, representing daily activity changes in private, public, and active passenger transport. In the aggregate, surface passenger transport emissions fell by 11.2% corresponding to 40.3 MtCO2 in Europe. This decline was predominantly due to the reduction of private passenger transport in five European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK). During the first lockdown in April 2020, CO2 emissions from surface passenger transport declined by 50% in Europe, resulting in a 7.1% reduction in total CO2 emissions. After April 2020, private passenger travel recovered rapidly, while public passenger flows remained low. Solely prompted by the private sector, a rebound in total emissions and surface passenger transport emissions of 1.5% and 10.7%, respectively, was estimated at the end of the study period. The resulting situation of increased private and decreased public passenger transport is in contradiction to major climate goals, and without reversing these trends, emission reductions, as stated in the European Green Deal are unlikely to be achieved. Our study provides an analysis based on a detailed and timely set of data of surface passenger transport and points to options to grasp the momentum for innovative changes in passenger mobility.

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  • Schulte-Fischedick, Marta & Shan, Yuli & Hubacek, Klaus, 2021. "Implications of COVID-19 lockdowns on surface passenger mobility and related CO2 emission changes in Europe," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 300(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:300:y:2021:i:c:s0306261921007972
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.117396
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    2. Indre Siksnelyte-Butkiene, 2021. "Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic to the Sustainability of the Energy Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-19, November.
    3. Klose, Jens & Tillmann, Peter, 2022. "The Real and Financial Impact of COVID-19 Around the World," VfS Annual Conference 2022 (Basel): Big Data in Economics 264030, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    4. Findenegg, Jakob & Wessel, Jan, 2024. "Pump or pedal? The impact of fuel prices on cycling in Germany," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    5. Lukas Hartwig & Reinhard Hössinger & Yusak Octavius Susilo & Astrid Gühnemann, 2022. "The Impacts of a COVID-19 Related Lockdown (and Reopening Phases) on Time Use and Mobility for Activities in Austria—Results from a Multi-Wave Combined Survey," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-24, June.
    6. Patino-Artaza, Helena & King, Lewis C. & Savin, Ivan, 2024. "Did COVID-19 really change our lifestyles? Evidence from transport energy consumption in Europe," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    7. Marco Diana & Andrea Chicco, 2023. "The effect of COVID restriction levels on shared micromobility travel patterns: A comparison between dockless bike sharing and e-scooter services," Papers 2309.16440, arXiv.org.
    8. Indre Siksnelyte-Butkiene & Dalia Streimikiene, 2022. "Sustainable Development of Road Transport in the EU: Multi-Criteria Analysis of Countries’ Achievements," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-25, November.

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