Let’s end the daily commute for as many people as possible

Peter du ToitI'm the founder of FutureWork IQ where I spend my time assisting businesses to design digital workplaces or “offices in the cloud.” These environments enable companies to allow flexible and remote working for their teams. I also teach the digital literacy, fluency, communication and collaboration skills needed to work in these modern technology-rich workplaces.

The science, for decades, has been very clear — there is a direct link between these two pictures. Increases in greenhouse gases have tipped the Earth’s energy budget out of balance, trapping additional heat and raising Earth’s average temperature which is causing a dramatic shift in climate and an increase in extreme weather events.

Covid has taught us that we can, as a result of forcing remote work, remove large numbers of vehicles off the road, resulting in dramatic reductions in NO2 and CO2 emissions across hundreds of cities. (See Coronavirus: lockdown’s effect on air pollution provides a rare glimpse of low-carbon future)

We need to do this permanently. We need to do this NOW.

We know that road transportation is responsible for almost 12% of global emissions.