Author: Ortzi Akizu-Gardoki

The COVID-19 has had unpredictable impacts on today’s society. Limitations on freedom of movement have been one of its most crucial impacts. But how has this affected to the environment?

In the Ekopol research group, we have collaborated with experts from the universities of Sydney and Edinburgh, to calculate the emission reductions that the non-mobility has meant in times of COVID. The research has been based on the use of the Multi Regional Input-Output (MRIO) methodology and the Google Community Mobility Reports (CMR).

As a result, it has been obtained that the Greenhouse Gases (GHG) have been reduced by 3%, the particles that are in the air by 2.1% (PM2.5), the dioxide suffer by 2.8% (SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) at 4.2%.

SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.estlett.0c00764
PDF: https://ehubox.ehu.eus/s/cmZPmWjFZHR9E8x