Since late 2019, COVID-19 has devastated the global economy, with indirect implications for the environment. As governments’ prioritized health and implemented measures such as the closure of non-essential businesses and social distancing, many workers have lost their jobs, been furloughed, or started working from home. Consequently, the world of work has drastically transformed and this period is likely to have major implications for mobility, transportation and the environment. This paper estimates the potential for people to engage in remote work and social distancing using O*NET data and Irish Census data and calculates the potential emission savings, by commuter type from a switch to remote working and occupational social distancing. The results show that while those who commute by car have a relatively high potential for remote work, they are less likely to be able to engage in social distancing in their workplace. While this may be negative for employment prospects in the short run, our analysis indicates that this pattern has the potential for positive environmental implications in the short and long run.

自 2019 年底以来，COVID-19 摧毁了全球经济，对环境产生了间接影响。由于政府将健康放在首位，并采取了关闭非必要企业和保持社交距离等措施，许多工人失业、休假或开始在家工作。因此，工作世界已经发生了巨大变化，这一时期可能会对流动性、交通和环境产生重大影响。本文使用 O*NET 数据和爱尔兰人口普查数据估计了人们从事远程工作和保持社交距离的潜力，并按通勤者类型从转向远程工作和职业社交距离计算了潜在的排放节省量。结果显示，虽然那些开车上下班的人进行远程工作的潜力相对较高，但他们不太可能在工作场所保持社交距离。虽然这在短期内可能对就业前景不利，但我们的分析表明，这种模式在短期和长期内可能对环境产生积极影响。