Environment & Energy | Tuesday 27 January, 2015 8:22 am |

The Saudi Center for Energy Efficiency at King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology plans to launch a third campaign to reduce fuel consumption in the country, this time targeting drivers.

The four-week campaign follows the government focusing on air-conditioners in 2013. In 2014, it issued directives for all new buildings to have thermal insulation.
The campaign brings together several government bodies and private sector firms to curb the increasing levels of energy consumption in three major sectors — buildings, land transport and industry.

The campaign would see various activities launched in 24 major cities in the Kingdom using newspapers, online press, outdoor billboards, radio, television, and social networking sites.

The government wants the country’s drivers to rationalize energy consumption by choosing vehicles that consume less fuel. There would also be advice on how to save fuel by driving more efficiently.

The transport sector is responsible for about 23 percent of the total energy consumption in the Kingdom. Small vehicles account for 82 percent of fleets in the country, which consist of 12 million vehicles, and consume about 811,000 barrels of gasoline and diesel a day.

Analysts predict that there would be more than 26 million vehicles on the Kingdom’s roads by 2030, with the daily consumption of gasoline and diesel increasing to more than 1.8 million barrels. The government recently signed a deal with 78 vehicle manufacturers to introduce more fuel-efficient small cars in the Kingdom. The Saudi Standards, Metrology, and Quality Organization said the signing of the agreements would reduce consumption in the road transport sector by 25,025 barrels. The regulations define the fuel economy standard for all light duty vehicles, new vehicles and used imported vehicles, coming into the Kingdom. This standard covers the period from July 1, 2015 until June 31, 2020.