Press release - February 20, 2007
BANGALORE, India — The Australian government has just announced plans to ban incandescent light bulbs and replace them with efficient Compact Fluroscent Light bulbs, a move that is estimated to cut the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 4 million tonnes by the year 2012. This will make Australia the first country to ban the incandescent bulb. Greenpeace India welcomes this initiative as the first step to reduce carbon emissions and calls on the Indian government to enforce a ban on incandescent bulbs. By only banning the bulb, India could save up to 12000 MW of electricity, which is equivalent to almost 4% of India’s CO2 emissions*
Soumyabrata Rahut, Energy Expert, Greenpeace India said "If we
are unable to keep temperature rise below 2 degrees Centigrade,
India will face devastating impacts of climate change; this will
not only reduce its agricultural yields by 20% but also affect its
GDP by 9 to 11%. The Indian Government is not in a position to wait
for other countries to resolve the problem." He further added "the
Government should take a responsible step towards fighting climate
change by cutting the use of hazardous and inefficient
technologies. Banning the bulb is an easily implementable
initiative which will address this problem along with the issue of
chronic energy shortage in India. It will positively impact India's
economic development and create a win-win situation for the
country."
For further information, contact
Soumyabrata Rahut, Energy Campaigner, Greenpeace India
+91-9845535403, 
Ruchira Talukdar – Greenpeace India Communications
+91-9900264127; 
Notes to Editor
> For details on Australia’s decision to ban the bulb: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6378161.stm
> An incandescent bulb loses 90% of the energy that goes into it as heat. In comparison, a CFL uses around 20% of the electricity to produce the same amount of light.
*Every watt of electricity produced involves CO2 emissions because the major source of electricity in India is still coal fuelled power plants.