The Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez has called on workers in the public and private sector to stop wearing ties, as an energy-saving measure in the heat.
Sanchez said his government is going to adopt “urgent” energy-saving measures on Monday as European nations strive to become slightly dependent on Russian gas in the wake of the Ukrainian war.
On Friday, temperatures have reached the scale of 36C (96.8 F) in Madrid & 39C in Seville.
During the past several weeks, Europe has gone through the record-high temperatures.
While addressing the media conference in Madrid, Sanchez noted that he was not wearing a tie- and said he wanted his ministries, public officials, & workers in the private sector to do the similar.
“It means that we can all save energy, “says Sanchez.
The Prime Minister said the move would ensure people stay cooler and therefore lower energy costs, because air conditioners will be used less often.
Notably, Spain is not the first in the list to take this move. In 2011, Japan has introduced its “Super Cool Biz” campaign, which urged office workers to go for wearing cooler clothes in summer.
During these rising temperatures in the UK recently, politicians were told they could ditch their suit jackets while in the UK recently, politicians were told they could ditch their suit jackets while in the House of Commons.
Meanwhile, Sanchez’s government is working on an energy-saving decree, which is expected to be approved on Monday.
It includes a move to encourage business to keep their doors closed where possible, to prevent air conditioning from escaping. A similar rule was introduced in France earlier this week.
The measures are part of the European Commission’s €210bn (£176bn) plan to promote renewable energy and lower European nations’ dependency on Russian gas after its invasion of Ukraine.
Germany is following suit, with one of its cities, Hanover, announcing that it would only offer cold showers in public pools and sports centres. Extremely high temperatures over the past couple of weeks have led governments around the world to reconsider their energy usage, from an environmental and cost-saving perspective.
Heatwaves have become more usual, more intense & last longer due to human-induced climate change.
