What's going on?

The International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday that countries should try to reduce oil demand, so they won�t be too gobsmacked if Russian supplies vanish in the blink of an eye.

What does this mean?

The IEA estimates that up to 2.5 million barrels of Russian oil exports could cease each day starting next month, after the fallout from the country�s invasion of Ukraine. The agency�s calling it an �emergency situation� for oil markets: after all, the price of Brent crude � a key international benchmark � already hit a 14-year high earlier this month, and the IEA reckons it could rise even more as supply struggles to keep up with summer�s high demand. That�s why the agency�s now urging its members � including the US, Japan, and Germany � to promote things like cheaper public transport, working from home, and less travel, part of a push to reduce oil demand by 2.7 million barrels a day over the next four months.

Why should I care?

The bigger picture: Too little, too late.
Europe might want to limit its gas usage too, since it currently imports nearly half of its supply from Russia. And sure, the IEA thinks Europe could cut its imports of Russian gas by a third over the next year by doing things like using more renewables and boosting energy efficiency. But it might be too late: Goldman Sachs predicts any big disruption in Russian gas supply could hit the region�s economic growth by 2.5% this year (tweet this).

For markets: Going green.
Green energy is gaining speed now that countries are moving away from Russian oil and gas. And since analysts reckon wind and solar companies � whose projects can be set up faster than some others � stand to benefit the most, they predict they�ll grow a lot over the next three years. Investors seem to agree: they plowed nearly $900 million into funds tracking clean energy companies � including some of the biggest wind and solar firms � last week.