The International Energy Agency encouraged people to work from home, fly less, and drive more slowly to lower overall oil and gas demand to cope with the energy market disruptions from the war in Iran.
“As the global energy authority, the IEA is doing everything we can to support the stability of energy markets,” IEA executive director Fatih Birol said in a press release on the report, which included several suggestions on how to shelter countries further from oil shocks by specifically targeting the demand side.
In the weeks since the Iran war started, the IEA and its members have attempted to ease market shocks by jointly releasing hundreds of millions of barrels from emergency oil reserves and calling for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to restore normal oil flows.
Disruptions to energy flows have sent oil prices soaring, as roughly one-fifth of global oil demand passed through the narrow, crucial waterway daily before the war.
The United States, which has carried out joint strikes with Israel on Iran, has also sought to prop up global supply by easing sanctions on countries such as Russia and Venezuela, as well as temporarily lifting the Jones Act.
Demand, however, largely remains unchanged, putting further strain on markets.
The report released Friday offers 10 demand-side specific actions that households, businesses, and governments can take to tackle the growing affordability crisis.
While most of the suggestions relate to road transportation, they also address air travel and cooking.
The recommendations are:
- Work from home to reduce oil consumption by vehicles
- Reduce speed limits on highways
- Increase usage of public transportation
- Alternative private car access to roads in large cities on different days to reduce traffic congestion and reduce vehicle oil use
- Increase usage of car sharing
- Encourage eco-driving practices
- Divert liquefied petroleum gas use from transport
- Avoid air travel when possible
- Switch to modern cooking solutions, such as electric stoves, to avoid the use of gas
- Prioritize the processing of oil feedstocks
By increasing working from home by at least three additional days on a national level, the IEA estimates, nations could reduce oil consumption from cars by 2%-6%, with potential average reductions for individual drivers hitting 20%.
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Lowering speed limits by at least 10 kilometers per hour (just over 6 miles per hour) is also estimated to reduce vehicle oil consumption by 5%-10%.
“Today’s report provides a menu of immediate and concrete measures that can be taken on the demand side by governments, businesses and households to shelter consumers from the impacts of this crisis,” Birol said.
