Sri Lanka is facing an acute fuel crisis, which can potentially get worse due to the fallout from the war in Ukraine, which has pushed oil prices well past US$ 100 per barrel.
As we argued in these spaces earlier, we simply cannot afford to splurge on fossil fuels any longer. The time has come to make drastic adjustments in the ways that we use fuel. In other words, we must simply use less fuel. In our case, this also serves the purpose of saving valuable foreign exchange – as it is, we spend a staggering US$ 6 billion a year to import fuel, which is clearly not sustainable in the long term.
Of course, the high price of fuel has now become an international problem, with motorists even in rich countries feeling the pain at the pump. This has led to a scramble to suggest ways and means in which we can literally steer clear of oil as much as possible.
This might not be easy, given that the world burns through a staggering 100 million Barrels Per Day (bpd) of all petroleum products.
While individual Governments are looking for urgent solutions, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has presented a comprehensive 10-point plan for saving energy.
Driving more slowly, turning down the air-conditioning, car free Sundays and Working From Home (WFH) should be adopted as emergency measures to reduce the global demand for oil, according to this 10-point plan from the IEA.
Such measures and changes to consumer behaviour would allow the world to cut its oil use by 2.7 million bpd within just four months – equivalent to more than half of Russia’s exports – the global energy watchdog said.
Granted, this is still a drop in the ocean given the 100 million bpd figure, but a start has to be made somewhere.
“These efforts would reduce the price pain being felt by consumers around the world, lessen the economic damage, shrink Russia’s hydrocarbon revenues, and help move oil demand towards a more sustainable pathway,” the IEA said, adding that many of its proposals could be implemented by Governments immediately.
Sri Lankan authorities too should seriously consider these proposals. For example, reducing speed limits on highways by at least 10 km/h can save about 290,000 bpd of oil use from cars, and an additional 140,000 bpd if trucks also reduced their speed.
“A reduction in speed limits can be implemented by national Governments; many countries did so during the 1973 oil crisis, including the United States and several European countries,” the IEA said.
The Covid pandemic, now in its third year, completely upended our lives. The use of vehicles was slashed drastically due to prolonged shutdowns and oil prices nosedived as a result. But there was a far more significant change – the realisation that one need not necessarily go to office to work.
The result was an almost total shift to WFH, at least for those sectors where it was feasible (it would be almost impossible for say, hospital workers).
Now that we are fairly comfortable with the concept of WFH, the IEA proposes WFH up to three days a week where possible. In fact, several Ministers in Sri Lanka had already suggested such a course of action.
One day a week of WFH saves about 170,000 bpd; three days saves about 500,000. Pre-pandemic, the use of private vehicles to commute was responsible for about 2.7 million barrels of oil use a day, the IEA said, yet about one-third of those jobs could be done from home.
Another idea mooted by the IEA is having car-free Sundays in cities. Every Sunday saves about 380,000 bpd; one Sunday a month saves 95,000. Switzerland, the Netherlands and West Germany did this during the 1973 oil crisis and some cities have used the measure to promote public health more recently.
Benefits include cleaner air, reduced noise pollution and improved road safety, the IEA report said.
The Colombo Municipal Council tried this out sometime back on selected roads and it should designate more car-free zones on Sundays.
The IEA has also urged Governments to make make public transport cheaper and incentivise walking and cycling which can save about about 330,000 bpd.
New Zealand is halving public transport fares for the next three months in response to high fuel prices, while studies in the US have shown cheaper fares lead to greater use. Some Governments have incentivised people to walk or subsidised bike purchases. All of this would require Government subsidies.
Sri Lankan authorities must improve the public transport system to a level where motorists will be compelled to leave the car at home, at least to go to work, if not for other journeys.
Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera has proposed popularising cycling, but as things stand, our roads are too deadly for cyclists. The only answer is having dedicated bicycle lanes as found in many other countries.
The IEA has also encouraged car sharing, which can save about 470,000 bpd. This is perhaps an alien concept for most Sri Lankans who think of their car as a private space, but the Government should find ways to encourage carpooling. In most countries, cars with a sole occupant (only the driver) cannot even enter the Central Business District of the main cities on weekdays.
Finally, the Government should encourage a rapid switchover to electric vehicles which will obviate the need for fossil fuels as long as they are not charged using the thermal-driven national grid. Indeed, urgent and viable solutions have to be found to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels.