Car-free Sundays? IEA sets out 10-point plan to reduce global oil demand
Driving more slowly, turning down the air-conditioning, car free Sundays and working from home should be adopted as emergency measures to reduce the global demand for oil, according to a 10-point plan from the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Such measures and changes to consumer behaviour would allow the world to cut its oil usage by 2.7m barrels per day (bpd) within four months – equivalent to more than half of Russia’s exports – the global energy watchdog said.
The IEA laid out a series of measures it said would help reduce global demand, currently close to 100m bpd, helping to ease sky-high oil prices hurting consumers and reduce reliance on Kremlin-controlled resources.
Immediate steps it recommended including reduced speed limits, car-free Sundays and cheaper public transport.
“These efforts would reduce the price pain being felt by consumers around the world, lessen the economic damage, shrink Russia’s hydrocarbon revenues, and help move oil demand towards a more sustainable pathway,” it said.
The IEA said that many of its proposals could be implemented by governments of advanced economies immediately, and estimated how much oil they would save by doing so.
Reduce speed limits on highways by at least 10 km/h Saves about 290,000 bpd of oil use from cars, and an additional 140,000 bpd if trucks also reduced their speed.
“A reduction in speed limits can be implemented by national governments; many countries did so during the 1973 oil crisis, including the United States and several European countries,” the IEA said.
Work from home up to three days a week where possible One day a week saves about 170,000 bpd; three days saves about 500,000.
Pre-pandemic, the use of private vehicles to commute was responsible for about 2.7m
Read more on theguardian.com
