The International Energy Agency has released a new report 'Sheltering From Oil Shocks: Measures to reduce impacts on households and businesse' which "details 10 demand-side options open to households, businesses and governments to shelter themselves from today’s oil shock and relieve the strains on affordability".
The IEA admits that it's hard to generalise and that different countries have different energy needs but nevertheless number one on its list is 'Work from home where possible'. The report's authors point out that commuting accounts for between 5% and 30% of car activity across regions. Here are their thoughts:
As not all jobs are suitable for working from home, at the national level, three additional remote working days, for those whose jobs allow for it, could reduce oil consumption from cars by 2%-6%. If an average individual driver shifts from no teleworking to three remote days in a five-day workweek, their personal car oil consumption could be reduced by up to 20%.
It also points out that Governments can encourage businesses to allow
their employees to work from home, and can mandate public officials to
work from home, where possible, and close public buildings on certain
days. Their examples make interesting reading:
Policy examples: In response to the 2026 crisis in the Middle East, several countries have announced measures to encourage working from home. For example, the Philippines and Pakistan have mandated 4-day workweeks for government workers, while Sri Lanka has closed public offices on Wednesdays, and Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam are all actively promoting remote work. Many European governments also encouraged working from home in response to the energy crisis in 2022-23, including through the joint IEA-EU Playing my Part Campaign. For example, France incentivised public officials working from home in 2022, and encouraged private companies to follow this example.
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