Donald Trump has made a pillar of his new mandate the return to “normality”. Among the first decisions, he signed an executive order that it requires federal employees to return to the officedeleting the possibility of working remotely. But what will be the consequences of this choice for the environment?
One million workers marching
The United States government is the largest employer in the country, with 2.3 million employees. About 1.1 million were entitled to smart working, of which 228,000 worked entirely remotely, according to Reuters. Now everyone will have to return to the office.
The change is not only organizational, but also logistical: hundreds of thousands of people will return to move daily, with a significant increase in traffic and carbon emissions. According to some data proposed by Cornell Universityremote work reduces emissions up to 54%, while the hybrid model allows cuts between 11%and 29%. Trump’s decision therefore risks frustrating these benefits.
The environmental impact of commuting
Pendularism is among the main responsible for CO2 emissions in the United States. An average car emits about 350 grams of CO2 for a mile path, with an increase of a third in the top hours. The forced return to the office means more cars on the street, more traffic and an increase in energy demand for lighting, heating and cooling of buildings.
In addition, the federal government had ambitious climatic objectives: public buildings should have achieved net emissions equal to zero by 2045, With a 50% cut already by 2023. However, the new policy introduced by the Trump administration has made these targets more flexible and less binding.
A social and economic cost
The impact is not limited to the environment. Many workers had reorganized their lives around smart working: bought the house away from the cities, enrolled their children to different schools and adapted the spouse’s work to the new reality. Now, for thousands of families, the return to the office will mean new logistical difficulties and unexpected expenses.
The Trump Administration justifies the choice with the need for Increase productivity and ensure better service to the citizensthe. But science tells another story: recent studies show that smart working not only reduces emissions, but The productivity and well -being of employees also increases.
Will the return to the office really be an advantage for the country? Or will it turn into a boomerang that will hit the environment, economy and quality of life?
