India’s First Steps on its Climate Plan

Greenpeace welcomes India’s first steps on its climate plan: phase-out of 400 million incandescent bulbs

New Delhi, India, 25 February 2009— Greenpeace today welcomed India’s first step on its National Action Plan on Climate Change, a market mechanism that will phase out incandescent bulbs, however called for clear targets and timelines on the other proposals listed in the plan.

Greenpeace has been campaigning for the phase-out of the incandescent bulb, and acknowledged that the “Bachat Lamp Yojana”[1] programme to replace 400 million incandescent bulbs with CFLs by 2012 is a good first step. If implemented correctly, the programme will save 10,000 MW of electricity and about 55 million tonnes of CO2 each year. This would have an effect equivalent to closing down four dirty coal-fired power stations. If the whole world followed India’s lead and eliminated wasted electricity from lighting, the cumulative effect would be equivalent to shutting down around 220 coal-fired power plants.[2]

“This programme shows how real emission cuts in developing countries can occur with financial support of the developed world,” said Srinivas Krishnaswamy, Political and Business advisor to Greenpeace India. He added “India must see the current climate crisis as an opportunity to develop along a sustainable pathway, rather than build energy infrastructure that is unsustainable for the planet and the national economy”.

In India, lighting makes up 20% of all residential electricity consumption - a huge waste of energy. Considering the massive peak power shortage the country faces, energy efficiency is smartest way to reduce demand and reduce CO2 emissions.

In this case, the price reduction for CFL technology is being financed by carbon credits through the Clean Development Mechanism. This “financial flow” is a way to take carbon out of the equation for development, under strict trading rules.

The world’s best chance to prevent runaway climate change is at the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen in December. There, industrialised countries must agree to fund around USD140 billion a year to help economies in the developing world cut emissions, protect tropical forests and adapt to the effects of climate change. However developing countries too must implement tough domestic targets to ensure that global greenhouse gas emissions reach a peak by 2015, and start declining rapidly thereafter, reaching zero by 2050.

The challenge for India is to make sure the lightbulbs programme is monitored and delivers on its targets and to follow up with the other steps in the Action Plan. “We hope that this is a sign that the Indian government is actually serious about their National Action Plan on Climate Change and it is more than a list of good ideas without the political will to follow through on it.” Srinivas Krishnaswamy concluded.

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