UNDP: Energy-saving bulbs could have huge impact

By Zuo Likun (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-08-05 15:31

The idea is simple: replacing regular light bulbs with energy-saving ones. If full implemented, the "Green Lights Project" would help reduce China's energy consumption by 8%, said Khalid Malik, UN Development Program's Resident Coordinator in China.

"If you were to produce new energy for 8% of China's consumption, that is worth tens of billions of dollars," Malik said in an exclusive interview with China Daily website last Thursday.

The four-year project was initiated by the UNDP and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planning body, on July 24 during a visit to China by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. It is expected to help China cut carbon dioxide emissions by 175 to 237 million tons in 10 years, according to NDRC.

The program is part of a broader international effort to build a consensus and momentum for the global Copenhagen Conference on climate change in Denmark, which will be held at the end of the year.

During the Secretary General's visit, Chinese President Hu Jintao assured Ban that "China wants to seal a deal in Copenhagen and will play an active and constructive role in the negotiations to achieve this end".

In recent months Beijing has made significant efforts to develop alternative sources of energy and cut emissions. These include increased subsidies for solar power as part of an effort to increase alternative energy use to one-fifth of all energy consumed nationally, as well as programs like the "Green Light Project"

"China is not only active in energy conservation, but..is now becoming a world leader in wind energy, solar energy. So I think this is tremendous," Malik says. "There's a lot of opportunities there."