China announces incandescent phase out

China has announced a three-step plan for phasing out incandescent lamps, starting with 100W lamps in October 2012.

Xie Ji, deputy director of the country’s environmental protection department, said at a conference that the timeline for the ban on imports and sales of the GLS would proceed as follows:

• 100W and higher – banned 1 October 2012
• 60 W and higher – banned 1 October 2014
• 15W and higher – banned 1 October 2016

Xie said the move showed China’s determination to press ahead with energy-saving measures to curb climate change and reduce emissions but it is also anticipated to have a massive impact on the take up of newer technologies. Shares in US-based LED chip manufacturer Cree surged by almost 10 per cent following the news.

“China is a major manufacturer and consumer of lighting products,” Xie was quoted as saying in a Xinhua News Agency report. He added that the country is the world’s largest producer of both energy-saving and incandescent bulbs - in 2010, production of incandescent light bulbs was reported to have totalled 3.85 billion units, and domestic sales stood at 1.07 billion units.

After implementing the plan, Xie predicted that China will save 48 billion kilowatt hours of power per year and reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 48 million tonnes annually.

The move follows a government pledge made in March to cut energy consumption per unit of GDP by 16 per cent while slashing carbon emissions by 17 per cent in the five years to 2015.

In the same Xinhua News Agency report, Christophe Bahuet, deputy country director of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said: “Phasing-out incandescent lamps in China will not only promote lighting technology progress and lighting industry upgrading and optimization, it will also make a positive contribution for realizing China’s energy conservation and emission reduction goal.”  

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