According to a report by the Center for Economic Policy and Research, less time spent at work and in commute could help curb global warming. The study suggests that workforces around the world move away from the 40-hour weeks to a “more European” schedule in order to reduce carbon emissions. The Center says the expected pay-off of less work and more play (besides the obvious) is cutting the earth’s rise in temperature in half by 2100.
Author of the study, economist David Rosnick, points out that while the correlation between a lesser workweek and reducing carbon emissions is not yet fully understood, it’s clear that lowered levels of consumption will aid in curbing the effects of greenhouse gases. In fact, it is suggested that if offices adopted similar hours to say, the 35-hour workweeks in Ireland, that between 8 and 22 percent of each degree of warming would be cut from now until the next century.
As of the latest statistics from 2011, Canadians work an average of 36.4 hours per week — a number which has been in a slow decline since 1976. Since it’s now 2013, maybe we’ve made it to the “more European” 35-hour weeks and can pat ourselves on the back for helping save our planet from global warming, or maybe we should set our sights on the Netherlands where the latest average was a 30-hour workweek; think about how much world they’re saving!
[via The Week]
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Hallae Khosravi is an intern at Toronto Standard. Follow her on Twitter @hallaek.
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