People are developing cost-saving strategies as energy rates rise and winter approaches. To save on energy costs this winter, the governor of Tokyo has asked citizens to wear turtleneck sweaters. Yuriko Koike said these could help reduce energy bill rises.
“Warming the neck has a thermal effect. I’m wearing a turtleneck myself and wearing a scarf also keeps you warm. This will save electricity,” she told reporters on Friday. “This is one of the tools to get through the harsh winter energy climate together.”
“Even in Europe, president Macron of France is taking the lead in wearing them!”
Yuriko Koike
President Macron has been successfully sporting the turtleneck look for some time now. His look was even discussed in an article from 2019 by Vanity Fair entitled “What’s Emmanuel Macron’s Turtleneck Trying to Say?”.
Besides being fashionable, the turtlenecks have a thermal effect, “they’re warm and overall energy consumption is reduced so we can link it to lowering CO2 emissions,” according to Tokyo’s governor. She praised them as “one of the tools to overcome [the winter energy crisis] while being inventive”.
“I’d like to share sympathy about the tough energy situation this winter while having the space to discuss having fun through being fashionable.”
Yuriko Koike
Japan, like many other countries, has faced a squeeze on its energy supply since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Earlier this month, the Japanese government asked people to turn off unnecessary lights, wear layered clothing indoors and turn the heating temperature lower between 1 December and 31 March, as reports BBC.
Similar measures were taken in Europe as well, in France for example there is a national plan called “energy sobriety” that implies reducing heating in offices and turning off shop lighting at night, lowering thermostats and turning off unnecessary lights.
Germany, heavily reliant on Russian gas and oil, has implemented a lights-out policy, including that public monuments and buildings cannot be lit up for aesthetic reasons. Also, the government runs publicity campaigns to tell locals how they can cut down on their own consumption.
Source: bbc.com
