The global demand for electricity is expected to increase dramatically--for lighting alone, electricity consumption is expected to increase by 60 percent over the next 20 years (IEA, 2006). Electricity for lighting is responsible for 19 percent of global power consumption and 6-8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), more than the emissions of Germany and Japan combined.
A global market shift from inefficient incandescent bulbs to energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) or LEDs (light-emitting diodes) would cut world lighting energy demand significantly, saving countries and consumers considerable sums of money in reduced electricity bills. Few actions could cut carbon emissions as cheaply and easily as the phase-out of inefficient lighting, making it one of the most effective and economically advantageous ways to combat climate change.
The global context of energy-efficient lighting
The phase-out of inefficient lighting is considered as one of the most important short-term initiatives that countries can take to combat climate change created by GHG emissions. Global GHG emissions reduction needs to peak no later than 2015 in order to keep the projected global temperature rise under 2°C.
In 2003, the supply of artificial light was estimated to result in the consumption of approximately 650 Million Tonnes of Oil Equivalent (Mtoe) of primary energy, which represented 8.9 percent of total global primary energy consumption. As a result, global lighting-related CO2 emissions are estimated at 1,900Mt CO2, equivalent to approximately 8 percent of world emissions. Therefore, from a climate policy perspective, reducing the energy consumption for lighting by raising the efficiency of lighting systems can be one of the most cost-effective means to abate CO2 emissions (McKinsey, 2007).
The IEA (IEA, 2006) reviewed a large number of sources to produce an estimate of lamp sales by country. As expected, incandescent lamps are by far the most commonly sold lamps in the world. They dominate retail lamp sales, primarily in the residential sector, in most countries. It is estimated that roughly 13.2 billion units were sold in 2003, representing over 72 percent of the global lamp market by volume that year.
According to estimates developed by the en.lighten initiative (2010), by simply replacing incandescent lamps with CFLs:
- 409 Terawatt-hour per year (TWh) would be saved, accounting for 2.3 percent of the global electricity consumption. By way of comparison, this scale of replacement would save electricity to 136 medium-sized coal-fired power plants of 500MW each.
- 246 million tons of CO2 reduction will be achieved on a global scale, which is greater than the combined emissions of the Netherlands and Portugal. 246Mt CO2 per year equals to approximately 62 million mid-sized cars.
The estimates show that in Africa, a country such as Nigeria could cut its electricity consumption by over 15 percent in a switch to energy-efficient lighting, while reducing CO2 emissions from fuel combustion by close to 5 percent. In Asia, a country like Cambodia could save over 30 percent of its electricity consumption while reducing CO2 emissions by more than 13 percent. In Uzbekistan, electricity consumption savings could be over 20 percent; In Croatia, nearly 10 percent; In Guatemala, also close to 10 percent; And in Yemen, just over 10 percent.
Efficient lighting and development
By phasing out inefficient lighting, peak power demand and blackouts in a large number of developing countries could be substantially reduced, making electricity available for other uses and helping to ensure energy security. When considering both aspects of the cost benefits--energy savings and saved investments--the transition to energy-efficient lighting technologies is financially one of the most attractive projects worldwide, and the simplest exercise when it comes to energy efficiency initiatives.
The en.lighten country lighting assessments estimated that by shifting from incandescent lamps to CFLs, the world could save 136 coal-fired power plants, resulting in avoided investment costs of approximately 113 billion US dollars, exceeding the cost savings for energy by a factor of 2.4. For developing and emerging economies, this savings would amount to US$43 billion.
Incandescents are just one part of inefficient lighting technologies. The elimination of less efficient linear fluorescent lamps in industrial and commercial lighting applications, as well as mercury lamps used in street lighting, would also contribute significantly to energy savings and CO2 emission reduction.
In 2009, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in coordination with Philips Lighting and OSRAM GmbH, launched the Global Market Transformation for Efficient Lighting Project known as the en.lighten initiative. The Global Environment Facility (GEF) tasked UNEP to lead this initiative and become the umbrella organisation to promote efficient lighting worldwide. The main goal of the initiative is to transform the market to efficient lighting through promoting high performance, energy efficient lighting technologies and phasing out inefficient, incandescent light sources.
The Global Efficient Lighting Partnership Program
The Global Efficient Lighting Partnership Program en.lighten has just released the Global Efficient Lighting Partnership Program, which is an unparalleled opportunity for countries to work with UNEP en.lighten and other nations to achieve a coordinated global transition to efficient lighting. UNEP and its partners will support interested countries to design and implement National Lighting Strategies, including relevant policies, which will enable their country to make the transition to energy-efficient lighting quickly and cost-effectively.
An integrated approach for designing policy measures will be utilised so that the transition can be sustained by the domestic market without continued external support and integrate environmental sustainability considerations.
The Centre of Excellence comprised of en.lighten expert Task Forces will provide targeted technical expertise to support the development of these policies to maximise the time and resources required to implement viable National Lighting Strategies and coordinated regional activities.
The United Nations Environment Programme en.lighten initiative is a Knowledge Partner of SIEW 2011, and addresses the challenge of accelerating global market transformation to environmentally-sustainable lighting technologies.
By: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)