Aus Phasing out incandescent light bulbs

Aus Phasing out incandescent light bulbs



Feb 2007 - Trumpeting it 
as a "world first," the Australian government is mandating a 
nationwide phase out of inefficient, old-fashioned 
incandescent light bulbs in favor of compact fluorescent bulbs 
by 2010. 
The new policy, announced Tuesday by Environment Minister 
Malcolm Turnbull should reduce Australia’s greenhouse gas 
emissions by four million tonnes two years later. Household 
lighting costs could be reduced by up to 66 percent, the 
minister said. 
"The most effective and immediate way we can reduce greenhouse 
gas emissions is by using energy more efficiently," Turnbull 
said. 
More efficient compact fluorescent bulbs were introduced in 
the mid-1990s. 
The reduction in emissions will increase as the phaseout 
progresses and the annual average reduction between 2008-2012 
is estimated at around 800,000 tonnes. 
By 2015, Turnbull says, the annual cut in emissions will be an 
estimated four million tonnes per year. 
But Australian Greens and environmentalists said much more 
progress in cutting greenhouse gas emissions could be made if 
Australian industry reduced its reliance on coal-fired power 
and coal exports. 
Turnbull said that working with its state and territory 
counterparts, the Australian government will gradually phase 
out all incandescent light bulbs and is aiming for full 
enforcement of the new light bulb standards legislation by 
2009 to 2010. 
Exceptions will be made for special needs, such as medical 
lighting and oven lights. 
"Electric lighting is a vital part of our lives; globally it 
generates emissions equal to 70 percent of those from all the 
world’s passenger vehicles, but it is still very inefficient. 
We have been using incandescent light bulbs for 125 years and 
up to 90 percent of the energy each light bulb uses is wasted, 
mainly as heat." 
Australian Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull 
"A normal light bulb is too hot to hold – that heat is wasted 
and globally represents millions of tonnes of CO2 [the 
greenhouse gas carbon dioxide] that needn’t have been emitted 
into the atmosphere if we had used more efficient forms of 
lighting." 
"These more efficient lights, such as the compact fluorescent 
light bulb, use around 20 percent of the electricity to 
produce the same amount of light." 
A compact fluorescent light bulb can last between four and 10 
times longer than the average incandescent light bulb, the 
minister said. "While they may be more expensive to buy up 
front, they can pay for themselves in lower power bills within 
a year." 
The Australian Greens today challenged the environment 
minister to support more meaningful energy efficiency measures 
than banning incandescent light globes when Parliament resumes 
next week. 
Greens climate change and energy spokesperson Senator 
Christine Milne said Turnbull's decision to phase out 
inefficient light globes was welcome but he would achieve much 
more by backing Greens' energy efficiency measures. 
Australian Greens Senator Christine Milne 
"The federal government last year rejected Greens' amendments 
requiring big energy users to implement energy savings 
identified in mandatory audits," Senator Milne said. 
"Parliament will be debating energy efficiency next week and I 
will be reintroducing the amendments. If the government is 
serious about energy efficiency then it will support them. 
"In 2001, the 250 largest users of energy in Australia were 
responsible for 35 percent of total energy emissions," Milne 
said. "If they were required to implement energy efficiency 
measures, they could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 35 
million tonnes a year." 
"This makes Minister Turnbull's 800,000 tonnes per year saving 
from light bulbs look paltry," she said. 
"It's all well and good to replace light globes but the 
government continues to avoid adopting measures that will help 
make the deep greenhouse gas reduction targets needed at the 
same time as it supports activities that increase emissions, 
including an expansion of the coal industry and injecting 
billions into roads. 
"The proposed Anvil Hill coal mine in New South Wales will 
generate 28 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every 
year, whereas the light bulb change will reduce emissions by 
800,000 tonnes per annum," Milne said. 
Greenpeace Australia did not comment on the lightbulbs, but 
instead today shut down the Kooragang coal loader at Newcastle 
to warn of the New South Wales government’s plans to double 
the terminal’s output and approve new mines after a scheduled 
March 24 election. 
To demonstrate that the coal industry is one of the biggest 
causes of climate change, Greenpeace activists shut down 
Kooragang Island coal loader in Newcastle. 
Wearing "Stop Anvil Hill" banners, the activists warned that 
the New South Wales government has plans to approve or expand 
at least eight mines in the Hunter Valley, which they said 
would be a “climate change disaster.” 
Activists chained themselves to conveyor belts at the 
terminal. New South Wales' biggest coal export terminal, it 
exports 64 million metric tonnes of coal a year, an amount 
Greenpeace says will be nearly doubled if the government of 
Premier Morris Iemma takes the March election. 
The activists were removed by NSW Police this afternoon and 
taken to Waratah Police Station. 
Other environmentalists welcomed the light bulb policy, but 
emphasized that most of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions 
come from industry, such as coal-fired power stations. 
"It is a good, positive step. But it is a very small step. It 
needs to be followed through with a lot of different 
measures," Australian Conservation Foundation, ACF, spokesman 
Josh Meadows told ABC radio. 
The ACF is urging the national government of Prime Minister 
John Howard to set national targets for emission reductions 
and renewable energy. 
Prime Minister Howard has aligned Australia with the United 
States in rejecting the Kyoto Protocol, but has recently 
showed signs of accepting the reality of climate change. 
Earlier this month, Howard said Australia is likely to be 
involved in a carbon trading scheme as part of the 
government's plan to tackle climate change. 
In his weekly recorded message, Howard said carbon trading is 
part of the solution to the problem of climate change. "Market 
mechanisms, including carbon pricing, will be integral to any 
long-term response to climate change," he said. 
Howard said there is undeniable evidence that the climate is 
changing. "But the answer is not knee-jerk responses that harm 
the national interest." 
The Howard government's response is changing lightbulbs. In 
Australia, lighting currently represents around 12 percent of 
greenhouse gas emissions from households, and around 25 
percent of emissions from the commercial sector. 

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