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Speed limit:
Just reducing the speed on freeways by ten kilometers per hour would reduce the need for oil by 430,000 barrels per day.
That is 8 percent of imports from Russia
Photo: Sebastian Kahnert / dpa
The federal government is working flat out to reduce and gradually eliminate dependence on Russian energy supplies.
Federal Economics Minister
Robert Habeck
(Greens, 52) has once again called on people in Germany to save energy.
"I ask everyone to make a contribution to saving energy now," he said last week against the background of the Ukraine war.
Savings would make stopping Russian oil supplies less painful.
Germany could possibly get through to an oil embargo sooner.
"We can only become more independent of Russian imports if we see it as a big joint project in which we all participate," said Habeck.
In an interview with manager magazin, business wise man Veronika Grimm also promotes incentives to save energy.
"The effect of savings should not be underestimated," emphasizes Grimm.
According to calculations by the International Energy Agency (IEA), ten emergency measures could reduce oil demand in industrialized countries, totaling 44.6 million barrels per day, by 2.7 million barrels per day within four months - this corresponds to
almost half of Russian oil imports
into the OECD countries, including Germany and other western industrialized countries.
With around 835,000 barrels per day, Germany gets 30 percent of its oil imports from Russia, the OECD 26 percent.
Which measures these are and how effective they are – an overview:
1. Speed limit on motorways
In most countries of the European Union, there is a general speed limit of between 100 km/h and 140 km/h on motorways - except in Germany.
Just
10 km/h less speed can significantly reduce the fuel consumption of cars, light commercial vehicles and trucks
.
In 1973, during the oil crisis, the United States and several European countries lowered their speed limits to reduce oil consumption.
Today, the measure is mostly used to prevent traffic jams and/or air pollution or to increase road safety.
Effect:
If cars reduce their speed by 10 km/h from 100 to 140 km/h on motorways, around 290,000 barrels of oil per day can be saved in the short term.
If trucks are added, another 140,000 oil per day (mainly diesel) are eliminated.
Overall, this accounts for
8 percent of Russian oil imports
into the OECD countries.
2. Home office three times a week
Before the pandemic, commuting to work in a private car used around 2.7 million barrels of oil a day in industrialized countries.
As the corona pandemic has shown, around a third of the work activities in these countries can also be done from home.
On average, employees in Europe commute around 15 km to work.
Working from home
up to three times a week
not only saves oil, but also a lot of fuel costs with record fuel prices.
For example, the federal government could reintroduce the obligation to work from home and companies could enable their employees to work flexibly, which noticeably reduces oil consumption, especially in summer given the air conditioning in many offices.
Effect:
One day in the home office saves 170,000 barrels of oil per day, three days even 500,000 - that is about
9 percent of Russian oil imports into the industrialized countries.
3. Car-free Sundays in cities
The
car-free Sunday
is a measure taken during the 1973 oil crisis, when the federal government reacted to the price shock with the so-called Energy Security Act.
This provided not only driving bans, but also speed limits.
At that time, countries such as Switzerland, the Netherlands and the Federal Republic of Germany introduced car-free Sundays.
Recently, cities such as Brussels, Edinburgh and Vancouver have also been using the measure to promote public health.
The goal: more people to walk or cycle, thereby reducing fuel consumption.
The measure can be enforced relatively easily through fines and road closures.
Effect:
If
every Sunday were declared a car-free day in large cities
, 380,000 barrels of oil would be saved per day, about
7 percent
of the OECD
's Russian oil imports .
If a car-free Sunday is only implemented once a month, consumption is reduced by 95,000 barrels of oil per day.
4. Discounts on local public transport and incentives for walking and cycling
In order to make the switch from car to bicycle attractive, many countries are already investing in local public transport.
Overall, the industrialized countries want to invest around 2.5 billion US dollars in the expansion of cycle paths and sidewalks over the next two years.
Additional incentives to save fuel are reduced ticket prices for public buses and trains or incentive programs for the purchase of e-bikes, especially in cities with longer journeys.
Several cities – including Paris, London and Brussels – are simultaneously trying to make driving less attractive by setting up numerous 30 km/h zones.
Impact:
Short-term measures could reduce oil consumption, where feasible, by 330,000 barrels,
5 percent of oil imports from Russia
.
5. Changing driving bans for private cars in big cities
Depending on the day of the week
, the driving bans for private cars with odd or even number plates change
.
This measure has a long tradition in Italy, ever since it replaced car-free Sundays during the first oil crisis.
The interchangeable model has been used repeatedly since the 1980s to avoid traffic jams and air pollution peaks.
However, the measure is not that easy to implement and is likely to raise logistical concerns and questions of justice, since households with several cars could avoid it.
Effect:
With a change model on two days a week, around 210,000 barrels of oil and thus almost
4 percent of Russian oil
could be saved in the short term.
6. Carpooling and other measures to reduce fuel consumption
Often only one person sits in the car, on average it is 1.5 in industrialized countries.
Carpooling for out-of-town trips reduces oil requirements while saving money.
The state can create incentives for this, for example by providing dedicated lanes, parking spaces at transport hubs and reduced toll rates for cars with several occupants.
Impact:
If vehicle occupancy increased by half on every tenth trip, daily oil consumption could drop by around 470,000 barrels,
more than 8 percent of oil imports from Russia
, while incentivizing lower fuel consumption .
7. Fuel-saving tours in road freight transport
Trucks are among the largest diesel consumers.
Environmentally friendly driving is therefore particularly effective in freight transport.
Incentives for improved logistics through optimized capacity utilization and fewer empty runs as well as funding for B2B cooperation and the use of digital technologies can reduce oil consumption in the short term and keep maintenance costs low.
Effect:
With "Eco Driving" measures, around 320,000 barrels of oil can be
saved daily by 6 percent of Russian oil imports
.
8. High-speed and night trains instead of air travel
The
shift from domestic flights to long-distance rail transport
over short distances of less than 1000 km has been discussed for a long time.
Neighboring France shows what such a measure could look like.
Flights there have to be canceled if the destination can be reached elsewhere within two and a half hours.
Effect:
Switching to rail saves 40,000 barrels of oil, almost
1 percent
of Russian oil.
9. Avoiding business flights with alternative options
Virtual business meetings via video link have replaced a large part of business trips by plane since the pandemic.
A premium class seat consumes three times as much oil as an economy class seat given the space restrictions on board.
In order to avoid that low-capacity routes are maintained despite a declining number of business trips, the state could allow flexible allocation of take-off and landing times.
Impact: Saves 260,000 barrels of oil per day in the short term,
5 percent of the oil
from Russia.
10. More electric and fuel-efficient vehicles
Supply bottlenecks for semiconductors, raw materials and other materials that are necessary for the production of electric vehicles are a burden for manufacturers.
Measures must therefore be aimed at compensating for disrupted supply chains in the automotive supply industry in the short term with capacities at locations that are less affected.
Fleet orders should be given priority as far as possible.
In addition, levies to penalize high-emission vehicles and fuel-saving targets can reduce fuel consumption.
Effect:
In view of the sales forecasts for the next four months for electric and fuel-efficient cars, more than 100,000 barrels of oil, almost
2 percent of Russian oil imports
, can be saved in the short term.
third
