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LONDON – Work from home, slow down on the highways and take the train instead of the plane if you want to save energy and defeat Russian President Vladimir Putin, advised European Commission citizens as part of recommendations to reduce dependence on Russian oil.
The range of “simple steps” outlined in Thursday’s Playing My Part plan could save a typical household an average of almost 500 euros ($ 540) a year and 220 million barrels of oil a year across the European Union, according to the commission and the Paris-based International Energy Agency. .
The actions are “designed to help Ukraine by reducing the EU’s dependence on Russian fuel, as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” the authorities said in a statement.
“Faced with the horrific scenes of human suffering we have seen since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, people in Europe want to take action,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. “Using less energy is a concrete way to help the Ukrainian people – and to help ourselves.
As the war in Ukraine approaches its two-month mark, Birol said that the actions of European citizens could “reduce the flow of money to the Russian military and help us embark on the path to a cleaner and more sustainable planet.”
Most European households are facing higher bills amid an energy crisis exacerbated by the war, the statement said. He suggests that using less energy could support Ukraine and reduce key revenue streams supporting the Russian invasion.
He urges consumers to take steps such as reducing heating, using less air conditioning, working from home when possible to avoid commuting to work, and sharing or traveling by public transport. He also called on employers to encourage telecommuting and on governments to provide financial incentives such as reducing train fares and supporting home isolation initiatives. Working from home has become a familiar habit in Europe and much of the world during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic.
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Maria Pastuhova, a Berlin-based senior political adviser at the E3G independent think tank, said the set of recommendations had potential in the short term.
“I fall [E.U.] “Citizens had to follow their recommendations, then that would save 220 million barrels of oil a year, which is a lot,” she said. “This is enough to cover more than three months of Russian crude exports to the EU and about 17 billion cubic meters of gas, which is more than 10 percent of Russia’s annual gas exports to Europe. So the volumes, in theory, are quite large. “
Pastuhova also pointed out its value as a public information campaign, as measures will be needed in this direction to limit energy consumption and switch to cleaner energy. But while the campaign may have the potential to have a significant impact in the short term, it does not believe it will be as effective as long-term policy.
“This requires a voluntary change in behavior. This can really work now, because citizens all over Europe are terrified [over] “What is happening in Ukraine and I want to do something, but this is a crisis situation,” she said. Even if people follow these recommendations, they “will not last long without clear policies and are not sustainable.”
In addition to imposing economic sanctions, European leaders are increasingly promoting energy efficiency to counter oil-rich Russia. Italy, which is heavily dependent on Russian gas, said on Wednesday it would impose temperature restrictions on air conditioning and heating in public buildings.
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In March, President Biden announced a ban on all imports of oil and natural gas from Russia. Britain has also said it will phase out all Russian oil products by the end of the year. However, EU officials have unveiled a separate plan to reduce Russian gas imports by about two-thirds this year.
The EU has long been heavily dependent on Russian energy. It planned to withdraw – eventually – as part of a broader fossil fuel diversion, but the invasion changed that schedule, with the 27-nation bloc vowing to cut off Russian fuel by 2027. About 40 percent of EU gas comes from Russia , because as well as more than a quarter of its oil.
Last month, the United States and the European Commission announced a joint working group to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky also called on the people to stop buying Russian oil, criticizing them for “earning their money in the blood of others.” However, the EU still sends $ 450 million a day to Russia for oil and $ 400 million a day for natural gas, the Associated Press reported, citing estimates by analysts at the Bruegel think tank in Brussels that show how difficult it is to get rid of fossil fuels. dependence.
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