The European Commission is urging residents of the bloc to cut back on driving and flying, to work from home, and to move toward more renewable energy sources, as the ongoing conflict in Iran continues to cause a spike in global oil prices.

According to Politico, EU Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen told the EU's 27 energy ministers on March 31 that the growing energy crisis in Europe is a "very serious situation." 

"The more you can do save oil, especially diesel, especially jet fuel, the better off we are," Jørgensen said, while urging people to work from home where it's possible, reduce highway speed limits by 10 kilometers an hour (6 miles an hour), ride public transport, and increase carpooling. The energy commissioner also called on EU countries to "finally turn the tide and truly become energy independent."

Countries across the globe have responded to the Iran crisis similarly in recent days as well. The Philippines recently declared a state of national energy emergency, Pakistan called on government workers to switch to four-day work weeks to conserve energy, and civil servants in Thailand have been asked to work from home, take the stairs instead of elevators, and wear short-sleeved shirts instead of suits to save on air conditioning. As of March 11, nearly 20% of hotels and restaurants in India's capital of Mumbai were also either fully or partially shut down due to a shortage of cooking gas.

Roughly 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas moves through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has shut to nearly all maritime traffic for more than a month now. And although Iran has allowed select ships from a small handful of countries to move through the waterway in recent days, average oil prices have continued to sit above $100 per barrel, with prices peaking at $119 on March 19, according to AP News.