World Governments Adopting Bright Idea

Across the world, governments are promoting energy-efficient light bulbs like this CFL in place of incandescents.

From Australia to Russia, energy-efficient light bulbs are gaining political traction around the globe. Introduced decades ago, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are now being promoted and even mandated by governments concerned about rising energy costs and climate change. According to a 2006 International Energy Agency (IEA) report, lighting absorbs nearly one-fifth of global electricity generation, more than is produced by hydro or nuclear stations and about the same amount produced from natural gas.

Australia will be the first country to ban the inefficient incandescent bulbs, with a complete phase out planned by 2009. “By that stage you simply won’t be able to buy incandescent lightbulbs, because they won’t meet the energy standard,” said environment minister Malcolm Turnbull. Australians are among the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters per capita, and the country has refused to sign the Kyoto Protocol. But severe drought in the country has led to rising environmental concern. According to Turnbull, the new law will reduce Australia’s current emissions by 800,000 tons by 2012 and will simultaneously cut household lighting costs 66 percent.

Lawmakers in California, New Jersey, the United Kingdom, Canada, and a growing number of other locales hope to follow Australia’s lead. Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty estimates that a ban of the energy-sucking incandescents would save enough energy to shut down one coal-fired power plant, according to the Toronto Globe and Mail. European bulb makers announced March 1 that they would work together to promote energy-efficient lighting to European consumers, including light emitting diodes, or LEDs, which can save even more energy than CFLs. The European Lamp Companies Federation, with includes General Electric, Siemens, and Royal Philips Electronics, said it plans to promote “public incentives to encourage consumers to purchase more efficient products and [set] performance standards that will eliminate the least efficient products from the market.”

Even Russia, a country with huge oil and gas reserves, is beginning to promote CFL bulbs, though “It’s all about conserving energy supplies and nothing to do with the environment,” according to Igor Bashmakov, head of the independent Center for Energy Efficiency. But the nationwide billboard campaign to promote energy-saving bulbs may not need a climate-change angle to be effective. As Moscow resident Nastya Meshkova observed, “It’s important to save energy, and if it’s going to save my energy bill of course I'll do it.” The IEA reports that a global switch to efficient lighting systems would cut the world’s electricity bill by nearly one-tenth.

This story was produced by Eye on Earth, a joint project of the Worldwatch Institute and the blue moon fund. View the complete archive of Eye on Earth stories, or contact Staff Writer Alana Herro at aherro [AT] worldwatch [DOT] org with your questions, comments, and story ideas.