Governments Push Citizens to Cut Back in Scramble to Save Energy

Summary

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WSJ What’s News — “Governments Push Citizens to Cut Back in Scramble to Save Energy”

Date: March 20, 2026
Host: Julie Chang (for The Wall Street Journal)
Main Guest: Tom Fairless, WSJ Global Economics Correspondent

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Episode Overview

This episode focuses on the surge in global government efforts to curb energy consumption in response to skyrocketing oil and gas prices caused by the ongoing war involving Iran. Governments are introducing sweeping policies and public campaigns urging citizens to use less energy, reminiscent of the 1970s energy crisis. The episode features reporting from Tom Fairless on notable measures in Asia and Europe, and it also covers related business headlines, including stock markets, corporate news, and cultural controversies.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Lawsuit Against Harvard Over Civil Rights of Jewish Students

• The Trump administration has sued Harvard University, alleging the school failed to protect Jewish students from harassment, violating civil rights laws.
• Harvard responds by defending its anti-discrimination measures and calling the lawsuit “a retaliatory action by the government.”
• (00:56–01:32)

2. Iran War and Global Energy Crisis

• Situation Update:
  • Iran’s new supreme leader vows retribution; US increases military presence in the Middle East.
  • Oil and gas prices surge as Iran effectively closes the Strait of Hormuz.
  • Tension recalls the 1970s global energy crisis.
• (01:33–02:21)
• Quote, Julie Chang:

  “It’s reminiscent of the 1970s, the last time we had a global energy crisis of this magnitude.” (02:23)

3. International & Domestic Energy-Saving Policies

• IEA Guidelines:
  • The International Energy Agency releases new guidance for governments to limit consumption.
  • Measures include: flying less, using public transport, working from home, reducing highway speed limits.
• Policies in Asia:
  • Bangladesh: Bans air conditioning below 77°F, closes universities, advances Ramadan holiday.
  • Sri Lanka: Introduces four-day work week for civil servants.
  • Pakistan: Temporarily closed schools.
  • Thailand: Public TV presenters ditch jackets; civil servants told to use stairs and dress lighter.
• Europe:
  • Governments are capping or lowering energy prices to shield consumers.
  • France inspects gas stations for unfair price hikes.
• (02:59–04:36)
• Quote, Tom Fairless:

  “There’s really a broad range of measures, new ones coming day by day.” (03:52)
  “Energy saving policies are likely to get stricter now that liquefied natural gas facilities in Iran and Qatar have been hit. Another shock to global supplies.” (04:28)

4. Public Reactions & Economic Dilemmas

• Public Responses:
  • No widespread unrest yet; some protests, especially over fuel taxes (e.g., Philippine bus drivers request suspension of diesel taxes).
• Economists' Concerns:
  • Price caps and energy subsidies can worsen shortages by suppressing true market signals.
  • With high interest rates and debt, governments are moving away from costly subsidies used during previous crises.
• (04:36–06:00)
• Quote, Tom Fairless:

  “It’s kind of Economics 101...this time interest rates are much higher, government debt is much higher, and it’s going to be much more tricky to afford those kind of measures, which is why they are putting more emphasis on these behavioral changes.” (05:09)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Government Policies:
  Tom Fairless:

  “Citizens to use less power, so fly less, use public transport, work from home, reduce the speed limit on highways.” (02:59)

• On Public Sentiment:
  Tom Fairless:

  “There hasn't been widespread stories of unrest, but there has been more protests, especially when it comes to taxes.” (04:40)

• On Economic Strategy:
  Tom Fairless:

  “If prices continue, then presumably they will have to do more in terms of supporting citizens and paying out subsidies.” (05:53)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Major lawsuit against Harvard: 00:56–01:32
• Iran conflict and energy prices: 01:33–02:24
• Energy-saving government policies (Tom Fairless): 02:59–04:36
• Public & economic responses: 04:36–06:00

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Related Headlines Covered

• Markets Update:
  • Stock benchmarks fall for the fourth straight week; Nasdaq leads losses.
  • Brent crude oil prices rise 3%, up 80% YTD. (06:10–06:58)
• Corporate News:
  • Super Microcomputer shares drop amid chip-smuggling allegations.
  • CBS News to shut down its radio service as part of broader layoffs.
• Fast Food Industry:
  • Despite 48% rise in wholesale beef prices, fast food chains continue aggressive discounting, squeezing margins.
• Cultural Controversy over Cesar Chavez:
  • Growing movement to remove Cesar Chavez’s name from public spaces after sexual abuse allegations by Dolores Huerta.
  • Emotional local reactions, especially among the Hispanic community in California.
    • Quote, Jim Carlton (West Coast Correspondent):

      “He almost started crying...he participated in a no grapes protest…he’s in the camp that they need to take his name out of the public domain.” (11:37–12:25)

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Overall Tone & Takeaways

The episode is brisk, fact-based, and maintains The Wall Street Journal’s signature evenhanded, data-focused tone. The tone of urgency and gravity in discussing the energy crisis is balanced by succinct breakdowns of policy responses and public reactions worldwide. The interviews add insight and nuance, especially in the context of historical precedent and sociopolitical impact.

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For Listeners: Why This Episode Matters

• Presents a clear snapshot of how global conflict instantly reverberates through markets and everyday life.
• Explains—in concrete, relatable terms—the often abstract notion of government responses to economic shocks.
• Captures a moment where public behavior, economics, and geopolitics intersect, offering both global and local perspectives.

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Transcript

[A]

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[B]

The Trump administration sues Harvard, alleging it violated the civil rights of its Jewish students. Plus, the Iran war is sending prices for oil and gas way up. Now governments worldwide are urging households and businesses to curb their energy consumption.

[C]

The International Energy Agency issued new guidelines this week advice on governments on how to limit energy consumption. Citizens to use less power, so fly less, use public transport, work from home, reduce the speed limit on highways. So really quite a broad range of measures to limit demand.

[B]

And a national effort to strip Cesar Chavez's name from public infrastructure is underway. It's Friday, March 20th. I'm Julie Chang for the Wall Street Journal, filling in for Alex Osola. This is the PM edition of what's the top headlines and business stories that moved the world today. The Trump administration is suing Harvard University, alleging the school violated Jewish students civil rights. The Justice Department says Harvard ignored hostility to Jews and Israelis on campus and fail to enforce anti harassment rules. The lawsuit seeks to recover millions of taxpayer dollars that Harvard accepted while allegedly in violation of civil rights law. Harvard said it's committed to ensuring respect on campus and has taken steps to address anti Semitism like training and anti discrimination rules. The school said the lawsuit was a, quote, retaliatory action by the government. The lawsuit is the latest tactic in the Trump administration's battle against Harvard and other elite universities. And turning to the Iran war, Iran is projecting defiance. Its new supreme leader says that safety must be taken away from Iran's enemies and its armed forces are vowing to pursue them. Even in tourist spots. Iran is denying that US And Israeli airstrikes have crippled its ability to produce missiles. Meanwhile, the Pentagon is sending three warships and about 2,500 more Marines to the Middle East. It's the second deployment of Marines to the region in the past week. And President Trump again criticized NATO members for not joining a US Effort to open the Strait of Hormuz. Iran. Effectively closing the strait has helped drive up prices for oil and gas. And because of that, governments around the world are pressuring people to use less energy. It's reminiscent of the 1970s, the last time we had a global energy crisis of this magnitude. WSJ global economics correspondent Tom Fareless has been following what's been one of the broadest efforts since then to change how much fuel people use. Tom, tell us about some of the policies you've seen and where.

[C]

The International Energy Agency or the IEA in Paris issued new guidelines this week, advice on governments on how to limit energy consumption. Citizens to use less power, so fly less, use public transport, work from home, reduce the speed limit on highways, so really quite a broad range of measures to limit demand. And the majority of the oil that is passing through the Strait of Hormuz, where the difficulties are, goes to Asia. And so it's really poorer countries there especially that quickly started to urge their citizens to find ways to save energy. Bangladesh has banned the use of air conditioning to cool buildings under 77 degrees. It's ordered universities to close. It's brought forward a public holiday for Ramadan. Sri Lanka has instituted four day work week Wednesdays off so that they wouldn't have a run of three days when the government offices were closed. And Pakistan has initially closed schools for two weeks. In Thailand, presenters on TV removed their jackets in a kind of flamboyant effort to encourage citizens to turn down the air conditioning. And the civil servants there have been told to use the stairs instead of elevators where they can and to wear lighter clothing. So there's really a broad range of measures, new ones coming day by day. And energy saving policies are likely to get stricter now that liquefied natural gas facilities in Iran and Qatar have been hit. Another shock to global supplies.

[B]

And how have locals been responding to these policies?

[C]

So far there hasn't been widespread stories of unrest, but there has been more protests, especially when it comes to taxes. The Philippines drivers of diesel powered buses, they asked for taxes to be suspended because of these increased prices.

[B]

European governments are capping or lowering energy prices to soften the impact on consumers. But economists warn that those measures could actually make the crisis worse. Why?

[C]

That's the concern of economists. You try and stabilize how much people are consuming, when there's a shortage of energy, then the price goes up. It's kind of Economics 101. In 2022, in the last energy crisis, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the government paid out hundreds of billions of dollars to citizens to try and lower their energy bills and try and stabilize industry. But this time interest rates are much higher, government debt is much higher, and it's going to be much more tricky to afford those kind of measures, which is why they are putting more emphasis on these behavioral changes. In France, they've done hundreds of inspections of gas stations to check that they're not raising prices too much. But if prices continues, then presumably they will have to do more in terms of supporting citizens and paying out subsidies.

[B]

Global economics correspondent Tom Fairless, thank you for your time.

[C]

Thanks so much for having me, Judy.

[B]

As the war in the Middle east shows no signs of winding down, the the three major stock benchmarks all fell. The Nasdaq led the losses, dropping 2%. It now stands about 9.5% below its record. All three major indexes fell for a fourth straight week, the first time that's happened to the Dow since 2023. Brent crude oil futures, the international benchmark, rose more than 3% to over $112 a barrel. They have soared more than 80% in 2026. Shares of server maker Super Microcomputer dropped by about a third today after prosecutors alleged that several of the company's employees smuggled high end Nvidia chips to China. The US Government in recent years has blocked China from importing those chips. Supermicrocomputer itself isn't a defendant. It put two employees on leave and fired a contractor. In media news, CBS News is shutting down its radio service in late May, eliminating all positions on the team. That's according to an email to staff viewed by the Journal. CBS Radio rose to prominence in the early days of World War II, when legendary newscaster Edward R. Murrow provided live coverage from London rooftops during Germany's bombing raids. The cuts are part of a broader layoff affecting about 6% of staff. Editor in chief Bari Weiss, who took over in October, is seeking to overhaul CBS News. Coming up, the cost of beef is going up, but fast food chains keep offering discounts, pressuring profit margins. That story and more after the break.

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[B]

We exclusively report that UBS has received the license to offer full service banking in the US The Americas are already the Swiss bank's biggest region for wealth management and UBS hopes that adding checkings and savings account services will help attract new customers in the US that could help the bank expand beyond its traditional super rich client base into a bigger pool of wealthy customers. And turning to the food industry, fast food restaurants have been struggling with the rising cost of beef, but they're still serving up discounts. Federal data shows beef prices are up 48% over the past 12 months at the wholesale level and those prices are expected to stay high. But as traffic to fast food chains began to fall in 2024, companies started to dish out more deals. And this year, companies are going further. For example, McDonald's will launch a $3 and less menu next month. And the combination of more discounts with higher costs only increases the pressure on fast food companies profit margins and heads up. We dropped a special bonus episode earlier today in the latest what's NEWS and Earnings. We look at how retailers are dealing with inflation and price conscious shoppers. That's in your WHAT'S NEWS feed now. Across the country, there's an effort underway to remove Cesar Chavez's name from buildings, parks and more after revelations this week of allegations that the late labor and civil rights icon abused women and girls. According to the Institute of education sciences, nearly 80 public schools in 15 states are named after Chavez. And his legacy looms, largest In California, where 43 public schools are named after him. Yesterday, state lawmakers moved to rename Cesar Chavez Day on March 31 to farm workers Day. West coast correspondent Jim Carlton has been speaking to people on the ground. Jim, you and I are both in San Francisco, California. I grew up in the LA region where Cesar Chavez was a prominent figure. Why was he so important in California specifically? And how would you describe his relationship with the state?

[D]

Cesar Chavez is just a lion in California history. I've been in California for almost 40 years and it's just everywhere you go, it's Cesar Chavez Park, Cesar Chavez Boulevard. He was just such an advocate for immigrant workers and for farm workers. And he basically led kind of a revolt against really dangerous conditions for farm workers. And he did a lot of things. There was workers strikes which kind of shut down production in the 1980s. There was boycotting grapes. And so he ended up co founding the United Farm Workers Union with Dolores Huerta, who was also very prominent in this struggle. And together they really changed things for the better for a lot of mostly immigrant workers.

[B]

Yes. And Dolores Huerta made sexual abuse allegations against Chavez this week. What has the sentiment been like among locals as officials talk about getting rid of the day in his honor and taking his name off buildings.

[D]

So the Mission District is heavily Hispanic. I went down there to Cesar Chavez Elementary School. There's a giant mural of Cesar Chavez over the schoolyard. And so I saw a guy out sweeping his sidewalk. His name is Tony Rivera. And I was asked, what do you think they want to rename the school and other places. And he almost started crying. He's 45 years old, grew up in the East Bay. He participated in a no grapes protest. And he actually saw Cesar Chavez speaking in San Jose. But he said that said what Dolores Huerta went through, she's very brave for coming forward with her the allegations of what Chavez had done to her, you know, pressured and forced her into sex, resulting in children on both cases. And he's in the camp that they need to take his name out of the public domain.

[B]

Jim Carlton, west coast correspondent for the Wall Street Journal. Thanks for being here.

[D]

Okay, thank you.

[B]

And that's what's news for this week. Tomorrow, you can look out for a weekly markets wrap up, what's News in Markets Then on Sunday, we'll be discussing how the Iran war, higher fuel prices and a lapse in funding for TSA agents are disrupting air travel both in the U.S. and abroad. That's in what's news Sunday. And we'll be back with our regular show on Monday morning. Today's show was produced by Pierre Biennma with supervising producer Tali Arbel. Michael Lavall wrote our theme music. Aisha Al Muslim is our development producer. Chris Zinsley is our deputy editor. And Falana Patterson is the Wall Street Journal's head of news audio. I'm Julie Chang. Thanks for listening.

[A]

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