Cutting working hours rather than raising salaries could put the brakes on our energy use and help the job market to pick up, said Juliet Schor, professor of sociology at Boston College yesterday (31 August). She was addressing a Brussels debate on the links between working time and climate change.

So far there is little scientific evidence that shorter working time reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but it has been connected to lower rates of GDP growth, which then reduces energy use.

In recent decades, increased productivity has allowed Europeans to work fewer hours while continuing to enjoy rising salaries. Households in the US, on the other hand, have been increasing their working hours for some time now.