Britannia Radio

EU OBSERVER       9.12.08
EU to turn off old-style light bulbs by 2012
    RENATA GOLDIROVA

  BRUSSELS - Households across the 27-country EU bloc over the next 
four years are set to switch from traditional, incandescent light 
bulbs to models that will help savings in energy bills and cut down 
on greenhouse gas emissions.

"By replacing last century lamps by more performant technologies, 
European homes will keep the same quality of lighting [With old age 
this is untrue -cs]  , while saving energy [It won’t as more are 
needed  and they will not heat the room -cs], CO2  [What’s the 
point ? CO2 is GOOD! -cs]and money  [Totally untrue . . . .  they 
cost a fortune -cs]," EU energy commissioner Andris Piebalgs said on 
Monday (8 December), after EU member state experts backed a timetable 
drafted by his team.  [Who are these ‘experts’? -cs]

The European Commission is set to formally adopt the phase-out plan 
in March next year. Subsequently, it will seek to win the approval of 
EU lawmakers as well as EU governments.

"I believe that energy efficiency measures are the ones most 
important for the union's security of supply and competitiveness," Mr 
Piebalgs said.

Current bulbs - the type pioneered by Thomas Edison in 1879 - consume 
four times more electricity compared to low-energy models.

Each household could save up to €50 per year, Mr Piebalgs said, while 
the entire EU would annually save as much electricity as is consumed 
by Romania and cut 15 million tonnes of CO2 emission.

This would allow it to re-inject between €5-10 billion into the 
union's economy every year, according to the commission calculations.
Changes have to be gradual, commissioner Piebalgs stressed however, 
so that manufacturers could adapt production as well as ensure the 
same quality of lighting.

The European Lamp Companies Federation - representing leading 
manufacturers - have welcomed the push, saying that 85 percent of 
lamps currently used in European homes are not energy efficient.

But a different message came from center-right British MEP John 
Bowis, who warned that energy efficient fluorescent lighting could 
cause discomfort to people suffering from epilepsy, or migraine.

"This is one of those occasions where we must strike the right 
balance between the environment and health," Mr Bowis said, urging 
that no total ban of incandescent bulbs should kick in before 
"adequate alternatives" are brought into production.

Meanwhile, Greenpeace "regrets" that the most exacting technological 
standards are not to come into force straight away.  [Meaning ? -cs]
"The EU has watered down its ambition and has not brought in the 
highest existing standard," the environmental organisation said in a 
statement.