The 100 Country Lighting Assessment findings have come from the ‘en.lighten initiative’- a partnership led by UNEP involving companies Osram and Philips.
The initiative, which today launched detailed market assessments of the environmental and economic potential of a switch to efficient lighting in 100 countries, is supported by the Global Environment Facility under its Earth Fund.
The assessments analyze the benefits of shifting the obsolete incandescent lamp technology to compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). Larger savings are expected to be achieved if other inefficient lighting technologies are also substituted, such as inefficient tube lights or inefficient halogens.
The assessments show that in Africa, a country such as Nigeria could cut its electricity consumption by over 15 per cent in a switch to energy efficient lighting while reducing CO2 emissions from fuel combustion by close to five per cent.
In Asia, a country like Cambodia could save over 30 per cent of its electricity consumption while reducing CO2 emissions by more than 13 per cent.
In Uzbekistan, electricity consumption saving could be over 20 per cent; in Croatia, nearly 10 per cent ; in Guatemala also close to 10 per cent and in Yemen just over 10 per cent.
Indonesia could save $1 billion a year and cut its greenhouse gas emissions by eight million tonnes of CO2 annually – the equivalent of taking two million cars off the road a year – by switching to energy-saving bulbs .
South Africa might save US$280 million a year and remove emissions equal to 625,000 cars annually by following a similar path, say findings released, Wednesday, at the climate convention meeting by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
Mexico would save US$900 million, reducing 5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions a year in a soon to be announced plan to replace incandescent lamps in the country. With the electricity saved from this small shift, 3 coal power plants would become unnecessary.
It is expected that Brazil will save US$2 billion a year and 4 million tonnes of CO2 – the equivalent emissions from 1 million cars – when legislation in the country is finalized, by mid 2012.
For the Ukraine, an economy in transition, the cost savings could be US$210 million per annum with greenhouse gas reductions of 2 million tonnes of CO2 a year – equal to taking half a million cars off the road annually.
A principle and readily available technology is the compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL). Unlike old incandescent light bulbs which produce 95 per cent heat and just five per cent light, CFLs produce an equivalent amount of light using 75 per cent less energy. They also last up to ten times longer than incandescent bulbs.
The world needs quick wins to show that climate change can be controlled. A global transition to efficient lighting is perhaps the easiest method. If achieved swiftly, this victory would generate the momentum needed to achieve greater CO2 reductions in other sectors and assist towards stabilizing the climate below 2 degrees.