Earth day and the start of the international climate summit are now focusing on the climate - and how it has been affected by the pandemic.

Increased e-commerce is one of the pandemic's climate negative effects.

According to Richard Wahlund, professor with a focus on economic psychology at the School of Business, it requires extensive IT infrastructure, long transports and a lot of energy.

- Few people think about the environmental impact of shopping online, he says.

Increase in consumption after the pandemic

Richard Wahlund believes that consumption, both via the internet and in physical commerce, will increase after the pandemic as many want to make up for what they have lost.

However, consumption will stabilize and normalize after a while.  

- When you ask people about the environment, many are worried, but when it comes to the actual behavior, it is the personal needs that govern, he says. 

The psychologist Liria Ortiz, who wrote the book "Motivational conversations - Talking about environmental impact without accusing and blaming" believes that it is difficult for the brain to think about both the climate crisis and the pandemic crisis at the same time. 

- In the short term, the desire to go out, party and meet others will dominate, but in the long term we will be reminded that the climate crisis exists, says Liria Ortiz.

Mixed effects of new travel behaviors

Sonia Yeh is a professor of transport and energy systems, and an expert in alternative fuels and consumer behavior.

She believes that our feelings about the climate have not been significantly affected by the pandemic, but that some of our behaviors will persist.  

- After the pandemic, business travel will decrease but people will want to travel to visit friends and go on holiday, says Sonia Yeh. 

But how is the climate - really - affected by our changing travel behavior?

According to Sonia Yeh, the climate will benefit from the reduced business flights also in the future.

On the other hand, the anxiety of public transport will probably persist even after the pandemic - which has the opposite effect. 

- So the impact on the climate after the pandemic is probably a mix, she says.