Cook Islands Launches Carbon Emssions Bill

GOVERNMENT OF THE COOK ISLANDS OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

MEDIA RELEASE

22 December 2010

Cook Islands Launches Carbon Emssions Bill

A national project which aims at reducing carbon emissions and domestic power bills is being launched today by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Aponga Uira Robert Wigmore.

The project aims to introduce low energy light bulbs into all homes and educate the public on the advantages on using these over the standard incandescent light bulbs.

“If we manage to have all Cook Islands homes switch to energy saving light bulbs, this will translate into a saving of half a million litres of fuel each year,” says Minister Wigmore.

“The success of the project would also mean we would save several hundred tons of carbon emissions across the Cook Islands every year.”
The joint Asian Development Bank and Te Aponga Uira (TAU) project involves all domestic households receiving TAU voucher to receive three free compact fluorescent lights (CFL). The vouchers are redeemed at CITC, which won the tender to supply the energy saving bulbs. Unfortunately, commercial users do not qualify to receive the free bulbs which TAU guarantee are high quality with a two year warranty, has 10,000 hours of usage and safe against voltage fluctuations.

The Minister explained that replacing the high energy consuming incandescent light bulbs (those round ones) in homes by providing free CFLs is the first step in the move to phase in CFLs usage in Cook Islands homes.
Wigmore confirmed that the ultimate aim is to ban the import of incandescent bulbs altogether, “but we wanted to do this gradually and saw this phasing in as the best way to introduce the new bulbs and educate our people on the many advantages, not just with your own power bill, but helping our environment as well.”
Minister Wigmore said he is very pleased that the project has been launched and the positive cooperation of various sectors of the community in promoting it.
The national project will be administered in the outer islands with the assistance of OMIA.

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