Light bulb ban among bright ideas to cut CO2

THE Government is considering banning incandescent light bulbs as one of a number of ways to fight climate change.

Ireland will have to make significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in the years ahead, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern admitted after signing up to a major energy initiative in Brussels.

EU leaders agreed a ground-breaking overhaul of energy use and CO2 emissions and will now try to get other countries to agree to it at the G8 summit in June.

The Government’s strategy will be unveiled in their white papers on climate change and energy, to be published in the next few weeks.

Among the steps they are considering is banning or discouraging the use of incandescent light bulbs.

CFLs — long life or fluorescent lamps — use one-fifth the electricity of their rivals and would reduce CO2 emissions from lighting by 60%. “We think it is a very interesting initiative and we are looking at it as part of our climate change strategy,” Mr Ahern confirmed.

At the two-day summit in Brussels, the EU leaders at their two-day summit in Brussels succeeded in agreeing on 17 concrete actions aimed at completely overhauling the use of energy in Europe by 2020.

These include replacing one-fifth of all fossil fuels with fuel from renewable sources such as wind, wave and solar energy, and making biofuels, such as seed oils, account for 10% of the overall mix — largely in transport.

Ireland has been unable to meet the Kyoto targets of keeping greenhouse gas emissions to within 13% of 1990 levels. As a result, the State will have to cover 21 million tonnes of the 29m tonnes of CO2 it produces through carbon credits and by investing in clean technology in other countries.

Mr Ahern acknowledged that emissions from transport alone increased 8% last year, but said that in terms of the country’s economic growth, emissions had been kept very low.

“Our economic growth is outpacing the growth in emissions. We are doing a good job and we have to do more. The strategy outlined in the white paper will make a significant reduction in the years ahead,” he said.

Comhar, the Sustainable Development Council (SDC), which advises the Government on the environment and sustainable development, said Ireland faces a huge challenge to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, but this was not insurmountable.

Comhar chairman Professor Frank Convery said: “Meeting our targets under the Kyoto Protocol and beyond 2012, will require far-reaching changes in the way we live and work. While this will be a huge challenge for Ireland, it also offers an opportunity for leadership in this global question.”

Ireland stands to benefit from major EU spending on alternative energy research to help develop wave energy, in particular, and from co-ordinators to be appointed to speed up electricity and gas interconnections. The Government plans to build two between Ireland and Britain.

Getting unanimous agreement meant accepting some compromises, including recognising the role of nuclear energy as a carbonless energy source.

Mr Ahern said he did not believe nuclear power was a valid response to climate change, but had to acknowledge the French position that much of their electricity is nuclear.

“It’s not up to us to tell them what to do,” he said.

The Green group in the European Parliament will push to ban the bulb next week when MEPs meet in Strasbourg.

Green MEP Caroline Lucas said the move by the Taoiseach and the EU leaders to promote CFCs was a move in the right direction.