WWF urges EU to ban all energy wasting light bulbs

Brussels, Belgium - WWF welcomes the ban on inefficient incandescent light bulbs, coming into effect in the EU from 1 September, but it says that equally energy wasting light bulbs like standard halogens should also be removed from the market.

The phase-out ban voted by Member States in December 2008 will remove all conventional incandescent bulbs from the shelves by 2012 and save 15 million tons of CO2 annually by 2020, equivalent to the entire current electricity consumption of Romania per year.

“Getting rid of incandescents is a no-brainer, but halogens are nearly as wasteful: we need to see the EU push innovative solutions into the market.” says Mariangiola Fabbri, Senior Energy Policy Officer at WWF’s European Policy Office.

The traditional incandescent bulb is one of the least efficient ways of producing light, along with the standard halogen. It disperses 95% of the energy it uses. The alternatives to energy wasting bulbs are most efficient halogen bulbs, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and LED (light emitting diodes) bulbs.

WWF together with other organisations has launched a web portal to inform consumers about the most energy-efficient appliances and lighting equipment across Europe (www.topten.info).

“Consumers need to receive correct and simple information about the many alternatives already available in the market”, says Fabbri. “Simple information on packaging and recycling collection systems at points of sale are crucial to achieving real savings and changing consumers’ habits”, says Fabbri.