Energy saving, the IEA’s recommendation for consumption and emissions

Increasing teleworking days stands out among the recommendations of the International Energy Agency (IEA) to save fuel, at a time when Europe is debating the increase in sanctions on Russia after the invasion of Ukraine, which has led to an unprecedented energy crisis.

The IEA’s recommendations are in addition to the warnings of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its report on ‘Mitigation’ of the climate crisis presented on April 4, in which it points out that it is necessary to reduce pollutant emissions into the atmosphere by 43% by 2030.

In addition, methane emissions would have to be reduced by a third to limit global warming to 1.5 ºC, a challenge included in the Paris Agreement.

Increasing teleworking days means reducing travel and use of transport – especially private – reducing the use of fossil fuels and, therefore, a reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, responsible for global warming and air pollution, which cause nine million premature deaths, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO).

Faced with this situation, the IEA has developed a series of recommendations on the use and saving of energy with measures on mobility, transport or increasing teleworking, because one more day would mean significant savings.

It also recommends reducing speed on the roads by at least 10 kilometers per hour, making public transport cheaper, promoting micromobility, using bicycles or walking, restricting the use of cars in some areas of large cities on Sundays, using alternative private vehicles such as taxis or making shared trips.

In this line, the spokesman for Climate Change of Ecologists in Action, Javier Andaluz, has pointed out to EFE that teleworking can save a large amount of emissions associated with individual travel to the workplace.

In the energy transition, existing telecommunications infrastructures can be used, although “we will also have to study some impacts that this measure could have, such as greater dependence on computer systems, among others, and also greater climate and energy consumption” in homes, he said.

Andaluz has remarked that the IPCC report is “quite clear”, and reaffirms how individual displacements are among the largest emitters of greenhouse effect and recommends not only teleworking, but alternative transport such as cycling or opting for other public travel systems.

It is clear after the crisis of the pandemic, the coupling between emissions, mobility and the consumption of fossil fuels, so it is important to reduce their consumption, even more so if they are imported from Russia so as not to finance wars, he said.

But Spain “is not especially leading this change in the mode of transport,” says this environmental expert who makes several proposals for it.

On the one hand, municipalities must promote public transport by increasing the frequency of buses and reducing the cost of tickets, but national measures must also be implemented with the development of the railway network.

In this area, a model of communication between large capitals and cities is being prioritized and the conventional train that structures the territory is being abandoned.

In addition, Andaluz has defended stopping investing in infrastructure for the car and increasing low-speed areas in cities “so that it is not the predominant means of transport”.

The conservation coordinator of WWF Spain, Luis Suárez, told EFE that the IEA’s recommendation “is good” because it reduces emissions and also helps to promote family reconciliation.

However, after the pandemic break, Suárez has exploded, we are very far from reaching the objectives of reducing emissions in terms of transport and, in addition, people continue to use the private vehicle in a remarkable way due to the fear of contagion of covid-19.

All it is to go in the other direction, he added, is to fight climate change and improve our living conditions.

Source: The Vanguard