Super Efficient Light Bulbs To Tackle Global Emissions Caused By Lighting

Green, low-carbon electrical lights displayed at the COP21 conference in Paris

Governments including China, India, the US and companies such as Ikea are backing a plan to have 10bn super efficient light bulbs fitted worldwide to tackle the 5% of global emissions caused by lighting.

The public-private partnership is expected to see India sell 0.8bn LED bulbs by 2019 and China committing to sell 5bn by 2018.

Ikea, the Swedish furniture multinational, committed to sell 500m LED bulbs to its customers by 2020.
The Swedish energy minister, Ibrahim Baylan, told the Guardian that the scheme had been an outgrowth of innovations in the lighting sector this decade.

“New lighting creates new opportunities in our societies with multiple benefits,” he said. “Sweden wants to support the transition to universal access of high-efficient and high-quality lighting, which is why we join this race with other Clean Energy Ministerial partners to realize the efficiency potential that exists in Sweden and the rest of the world.”

The US energy secretary, Ernest Moniz, will also be endorsing the project which is backed by 13 major economies – including Australia, the UK and Mexico – and the European commission.

Lighting accounts for around 15% of the world’s electricity consumption, more than the combined output of all the planet’s nuclear plants.

That demand is set to rise 50% by 2030 as the world’s population grows, urbanisation increases and 1.2 billion people who currently lack access to energy grids get connected.

Equally though, an overnight transition to LED lighting could save about 735m tonnes of carbon emissions, which is enough to displace nearly 250 coal-fired power plants around the world