Tackling the challenge of energy conservation

Thirty years ago, few people knew anything about the dangers of carbon emissions. Today, the need to mitigate global warming by controlling man-made carbon emissions is probably the single most important issue we face as a global community. The following is an extract from van Deursen's presentation to the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali in December 2007.

Energy management has become the single greatest challenge for politicians, legislators, businesses and consumers at the start of the 21st century. Writers and politicians are all now convinced that we have passed the point of no return. The time to act is now.

Over the past 30 years, demand for energy has boomed and if left unchecked will continue to grow. We are facing the dual challenge of rising energy prices and a growing global population which will put far greater demands on energy production and supply. Across Asia we are witnessing the effects of mass urbanisation and the growth of mega-cities of more than 15 million people. But increasing energy demand is a global phenomenon and not isolated to these rapidly growing economies.

The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, published in 2006, calculates the cost of doing too little would be 5% of global GDP each year, now and forever. Actually, scientists estimate that a 60-80% cut in greenhouses gases will be needed to stabilise the atmosphere - way beyond the parameters of the now-compromised Kyoto Treaty.

So we have begun to act and it's astonishing how the popular mindset has evolved. What started 15 years ago as a topic for activists and academics is now a subject for legislators. The US today wants to cut its oil consumption by 20%. The new EU energy action plan calls for a 20% cut in energy use by 2020. Next is the turn of business leaders. Either to meet new legislation or in many cases anticipating it, businesses in all segments are recognising the need to act and address their 'carbon footprint'.

Perhaps most importantly, we are entering the age of individual responsibility. Everyone has a defining image that triggers behaviour change. Maybe it was the New Orleans hurricane, vanishing glaciers; El Ninõ coming back, floods in Jakarta or the plight of the polar bear. Whatever it is, we need to change the way we're behaving at an individual level and businesses have a responsibility to help their customers behave more 'sustainably'.

Philips is calling for a global move towards energy-efficient lighting solutions and campaigning with the lighting industry, NGOs (non-governmental organisations associated with the UN), energy suppliers, governments and retailers to accelerate the replacement of old technologies.

The international energy agency calculated that worldwide, electrical lighting uses 19% of all electricity produced so it's clear that any changes to address energy efficiency in lighting could significantly reduce energy consumption around the world. New research data released by Philips in 2007 showed that the potential energy savings from energy-efficient lighting is actually around 40%, double the previously acknowledged figure.

There are two fundamental points to make when talking about lighting and the potential for energy savings.

Firstly, about two thirds of all lighting currently installed worldwide is based on old, less energy-efficient technology - developed before the 1970s. Secondly, during the last decade there has been a revolution in lighting technology, especially in energy-efficient solutions.

The full potential of this switchover is significant. It not only would save energy and CO₂ emissions, it would also save significant costs - a triple win situation. To put this in perspective, an achievable energy saving of 40% on all the lighting currently installed globally would save more than €100 billion in energy costs. This equates to over 550 million tonnes of CO₂, 1.5 billion barrels of oil per year or the annual output of more than 500 medium-sized power stations.

Put another way, the ordinary household light bulb wastes a lot of energy. Traditional incandescent bulbs are little more than heating devices as 95% of the energy is wasted as heat. And new lighting technologies not only offer energy savings, they also provide a higher quality of light.

We are therefore encouraging the switchover from older lighting technology to the latest technology available on the market today - from energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs to new LED solutions.

Increasingly, we all know what we need to be doing to ensure energy efficiency. But how we get widespread and accelerated adoption of good energy practices is one of the biggest hurdles we face as industry leaders, governments and policy makers. It has become clear that there is the motivation of responsible energy consumption among all consumers, whether as individuals in their own homes or as professionals during their working lives. Yet we have to address creating the right incentive system to enable energy-efficient investments in infrastructure and renovation. This is could be further accelerated via effective policy and follow-through.

We must initially assess the options facing businesses as we seek to balance our commercial needs with our obligations as global citizens. Governments can also help by putting minimum energy level standards in place. This should be accompanied with minimum quality standards to safeguard the quality level customers are expecting.

Given that we can realistically save 40% of all energy used to light up our cities, homes and workplaces with technology available today, the opportunity to take urgent action is in the hands of each of the delegates and heads of state attending the UN Climate Change Conference.

Philips has introduced cleaner and greener technologies and is committed to dramatically reducing carbon emissions caused by the world's lighting needs. Philips invented the energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulb in 1980 and with its latest 'EcoVision' program announced in September 2007, Philips has committed to doubling its investment in green innovations to €1 billion over the next five years.

New lighting technology offers a triple win: consumers and end users, the environment and business - all will gain and benefit. However, these gains also require a triple effort. The lighting industry has to replace old lighting with new technologies; consumers and users need to act and enjoy the benefits of newer technologies; and the financial sector needs to offer more products to support this switchover. And from a political perspective, it would help to have fast and successful implementations of new legislation and the setting of ambitious mandatory energy-efficiency targets.

Kyoto called for a 20% reduction in energy consumption by 2020. We feel that there are even more opportunities than this. The Kyoto targets for lighting could easily be achieved - it just needs action and it needs action now to ensure the quality of life for the generations to come.