International Energy Agency Encourages Working From Home And Traveling Less As Global Oil Crisis Grows

Ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to disrupt global supply chains, pushing oil prices above $100 a barrel for the first time since 2022.

The International Energy Agency has issued new guidance encouraging remote work and less travel as conflict in the Middle East drives up oil prices.

On March 20, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released a list of 10 immediate measures for governments, businesses, and households to help curb rising oil demand. Recommendations include working from home, lowering highway speed limits by at least 6 miles per hour, carpooling, reducing air travel, and increasing public transportation use.

According to the IEA, reducing business travel can quickly ease pressure on jet fuel demand. The agency also recommends using electric cooking where possible and shifting to biofuels or converted vehicles from liquid petroleum gas, or LPG, to gasoline.

The IEA issued guidance to member countries—including the U.S., U.K., and Australia—urging immediate action following military strikes on Iran that have triggered one of the largest supply disruptions in the global oil market. The guidance comes as Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, surged to about $106 per barrel on March 20 after briefly nearing $120 the day prior, following an Iranian attack on a major liquefied natural gas facility in Qatar.

Ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to disrupt global supply chains, pushing oil prices above $100 a barrel for the first time since 2022.

“The war in the Middle East is creating a major energy crisis, including the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market. In the absence of a swift resolution, the impacts on energy markets and economies are set to become more and more severe,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a statement.

Birol warned that without a swift resolution to the Iran conflict, “the impacts on energy markets and economies are set to become more and more severe.”

The IEA noted that governments are already taking steps to curb demand and support households, with countries like Austria and Greece capping fuel retailers’ profits, while the U.K. is offering aid to cover heating oil costs. Some governments have also limited official travel and launched campaigns urging reduced energy use.

Birol said the recommendations offer a “menu of immediate and concrete measures” for governments, businesses, and households to help shield consumers from the crisis.