Emergency measures such as working from home, lower speed limits and car-free Sundays in cities should be used to cut oil demand and avert a "crippling" supply crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, the International Energy Agency has said. It also suggested business flights are curbed, public transport made cheaper or free and that motorists set their cars’ air conditioning systems to 3 degrees warmer in summer.
The measures are part of a ten-point plan designed to cut fuel usage in order to avoid the "biggest oil supply shock in decades", reports The Times. Sanctions and boycotts of Russian oil are likely to remove 2.5 million barrels a day from the markets, creating "a real risk that markets tighten further and oil prices escalate significantly in the coming months" as demand for oil typically peaks in July and August, the agency said.
Oil prices hit $139 a barrel earlier this month, although the international benchmark Brent Crude was trading 1.2 per cent higher at $107.93 a barrel in New York on Friday night (March 18). It is believed such measures would cut global oil demand by 2.7 million barrels a day within four months.
