CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2023
| Author | Bogensberger, Fiona |
|---|---|
| Title | The Future of Work Amidst the Climate Crisis: How Work-Time-Reduction Affects Individual Consumption-Based CO2 Emissions in Austria |
| Summary | Effects of the climate crisis are imminent, while COVID-19 has presented us with a new attitude towards how work. Thus, discussions and increasing experiments of Work-Time-Reduction need to be analysed with respect to their potential impact on the climate. Previous research on the effects of reduced work-hours on greenhouse gas emissions by Schor (2005), Hayden and Shandra (2009), Nässén and Larsson (2015) and Fremstad et al (2019) have assumed a proportional decrease in income with a reduction in work-hours. This thesis however focuses on constant income with work-time-reduction, of which no prior research is available. A non-representative survey was conducted, in style of a time-use analysis developed by Jalas (2002), with time-use categories following Druckman et al (2012), to examine how respondents would spend their increased free-time with reduced hours of work. Answers of the survey were linked to Smetschka et al’s (2019) kilogram of CO2 emissions per hour of activity estimations of Austrian citizens. This thesis concludes that reducing work hours by itself does not lead to a decrease in total CO2 emissions. However, as Commuting and Food are the most carbon intensive activities, if the policy is coupled with a carbon tax to discourage driving by car, infrastructure available for public transport, subsidies for local vegetables while raising the price of meat, people’s consumption patterns may change towards a more sustainable lifestyle. |
| Supervisor | Barany, Zsofia |
| Department | Undergraduate Studies BA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2023/bogensberger_fiona.pdf |
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