Reduce speed limits, teleworking: solutions to cushion oil crisis

Paris, Mar 18 (EFE).- The International Energy Agency on Friday published a ten-point plan to cut oil use which includes suggestions like reducing speed limits on highways by at least 10 kilometers per hour and facilitating working from home three days a week.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has triggered an energy crisis that threatens global energy security and has sharply increased prices, with Brent continuing to climb and reaching $109.54 at London’s futures market on Friday morning — pending the situation in Ukraine.

The agency’s executive director Fatih Birol warned that “the world may have to face its biggest oil supply shock in decades with huge implications for our economies and societies.”

The IEA has calculated that if the 10 measures were applied in developed countries, within four months the equivalent of 2.7 million barrels could be saved daily.

The agency also recommends car-free Sundays in large cities, reducing the cost of public transport, encouraging car sharing and practices that cut the use of fuel and using trains over planes as much as possible.

The IEA has also called for alternate private care use on roads in big cities (meaning private cars with even number-plates drive on some weekdays and odd-numbered plates on other weekdays) and accelerating a transition to electric vehicles or more energy-efficient options.

In addition to the plan designed to reduce oil consumption, the agency’s member states unanimously agreed to release 62.7 million barrels from strategic reserves to reduce tension in the oil market. EFE

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