The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, appeared without a tie at the press conference he attended this morning as a gesture of energy saving. "I am not wearing a tie, that means we can all save from an energy point of view and I have asked to all ministers and all public officials. And to the private sector, as far as possible, that when it is not necessary they do not wear a tie and that way we will all save". He thus explained it just after announcing that the Government will approve the energy saving contingency plan next Monday.
This statement sparks a controversy that already took place more than 10 years ago in Congress, when the then Minister of Industry and Economy, Miguel Sebastián, claimed to stop wearing the tie to save on energy consumption. He did it by emulating the members of the Japanese government, which in 2005 opted to get rid of the bond and the American during the summer with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In 2011 the proposal did not prosper in Spain: José Bono, then president of the Lower House and party colleague of Miguel Sebastián, opposed it alleging that it was necessary to comply with the rules of decorum. Now, however, Sánchez has put it back on the table, this time in a context of energy crisis and imposition of consumption reduction.
But is this really an effective measure to reduce energy consumption? Antonio Turiel, scientific researcher at the CSIC, is clear about it: "It doesn't make much sense, the impact would be ridiculous." Turiel considers that, if the objective is to reduce gas consumption - as the European Union has demanded of its members - this proposal is nothing more than a symbolic measure. “I think it is a way of trying to instill in people that there is a serious problem and that savings will have to be made. Spain is responsible for an 8% reduction in gas consumption, and even more cuts will be needed. I think this is now basically to raise awareness."
The expert emphasizes that the area that would impact is minuscule if one takes into account how gas is consumed in Spain. “In Spain, industry is the main consumer of gas, close to 30% of the total. Then there is the part that is used to produce electricity: in summer it is usually 15% and 25% in winter, although this year we are consuming more gas than expected in summer. And, finally, about 20% is used for home and office use.
According to Turiel, the idea is that “if people use less air conditioning, the amount of gas used to generate electricity will be reduced. If you save electricity, you will indirectly save gas.” However, if one takes into account that the proposal is only focused on a small part of the population - public officials who wear ties on a daily basis - the measure would really have a very low impact in terms of gas savings. at the country level.
