Many Asian countries have already introduced measures to limit consumption. Air conditioning cannot cool below 25 degrees in Bangladesh and 26 degrees in Thailand.
Some are introducing shorter hours for schools and university and limiting air travel for public officials. Pakistan and the Philippines have introduced a four-day week for public servants.
Thirty-two countries are members of the IEA, including the US, the UK, Australia, Canada, Japan and 24 other European nations. Its role is to act as a global watchdog, providing analysis and recommendations on global energy problems, such as energy security and the transition to clean energy.
The IEA’s other suggestions for governments, businesses and individuals include:
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Promoting use of public transport
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Giving private cars access to city centres on alternate days
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Encouraging car sharing and efficient driving habits
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Avoiding air travel where possible, especially business flights
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Switching to electric cooking
It also said there should be a focused effort to preserve liquid petroleum gas for cooking and other essential uses, by switching bio-fuel converted vehicles onto gas and introducing other measures to reduce its use.
Birol said these proposals were in addition to action taken by IEA member countries earlier this month, when they agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil, 20% of its emergency reserves.
He said there could be a further release of stocks “if we believe that there is a need” to ” alleviate the pain on the economy”, something he was already discussing with heads of state and governments.
“I believe the world has not yet well understood the depth of the energy security challenge we are facing,” he added.
“It is much bigger than what we had in the 1970s… It is also bigger than the natural gas price shock we experienced after the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”
