In light of the emerging global energy crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, International Energy Agency (IEA) proposed a 10-Point plan for governments to achieve significant reductions in oil demand and can help to ease strains and price pain.
According to the IEA, if fully carried out, the measures recommended would lower oil demand by 2.7 million barrels a day within four months in advanced economies. This would be equivalent to the oil demand of all the cars in China and have an even greater effect if adopted in emerging economies.
Most of the proposed actions in the 10-Point Plan would require changes in the behaviour of consumers, supported by government measures.
“[…] The world may well be facing its biggest oil supply shock in decades with huge implications for our economies and societies,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol who launched the Plan at a news conference with Barbara Pompili, the Minister for the Ecological Transition of France.
“IEA Member Countries have already stepped in to support the global economy with an initial release of millions of barrels of emergency oil stocks, but we can also take action on demand to avoid the risk of a crippling oil crunch,” Dr Birol added.
Since the majority of oil demand comes from transport, the IEA’s 10-Point Plan focuses on how to use less oil getting people and goods from A to B, drawing on concrete measures that have already been put to use in many countries and cities.
The short-term actions the Plan proposes include reducing the amount of oil consumed by cars through lower speed limits, working from home, occasional limits on car access to city centres, cheaper public transport, more carpooling and greater use of high-speed rail and virtual meetings instead of air travel.
“France and all European countries must get out of their dependence on fossil fuels, in particular on Russian fossil fuels as soon as possible”, Minister Pompili said.
“It is an absolute necessity, for the climate but also for our energy sovereignty. The plan proposed today by the IEA offers some interesting ideas, some of which are in line with our own ideas to reduce our dependence on oil”, she added.
Advanced economies account for almost half of global oil demand, reports IEA. Many of these economies, including the largest energy consumers, are required to have oil demand restraint plans ready as part of their emergency response measures.
