Light bulb phase out

The most energy-guzzling light bulbs in Britain will start disappearing from shop shelves early next year as part of efforts to cut CO₂ emissions, Secretary of State for the Environment Hilary Benn said this week.

The voluntary initiative, which is being led by major retailers and energy suppliers, will see energy efficient light bulbs replace their least efficient equivalents on shop shelves over the next four years.

The aim of the exercise is to save up to five million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year by 2012 from UK electricity generation, the equivalent to the carbon dioxide emissions of a typical 1GW coal fired power station.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced in March his aim for the UK to be one of the first countries to phase out inefficient light bulbs and set an ambitious target date to achieve that by the end of 2011, ahead of possible actions by the EU to ban the products altogether.