E-commerce may raise rather than cut carbon emissions

People trying to be green by working from home or shopping online could actually be increasing carbon emissions rather than reducing them, according to a new study.

Online consumers must order more than 25 items from any one retailer, at any one time, or else their impact is likely to be worse than traditional shopping, the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) said yesterday.

It also revealed that working from home can increase domestic energy use by as much as 30 per cent. Professor Phil Blythe, chairman of the IET Transport Policy Panel and Professor of intelligent transport systems at Newcastle University, said: "We hear a lot about the environmental benefits achieved as a result of working from home.

"However, on closer inspection it does appear that any environmental benefits are marginal.

"Climate change is a real threat to our planet, so we must not get overwhelmed by the task and use rebound effects as an excuse not to act.

"Policy makers must ensure that rebound effects do not negate the positive benefits of their policy initiatives."