§ Mr. StunellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimate he has made of the country's annual electricity consumption for lighting; and what plans he has to encourage energy-efficient lighting. [54220]
§ Mr. MeacherOur most recent estimate is that lighting uses about 20 per cent. (58 TWh) of electricity in the UK, accounting for about 6.4 per cent. of UK CO, emissions and is projected to rise.
My department supports a comprehensive programme of national and European-wide measures to encourage energy efficient lighting. At a national level, provisions in the Building Regulations to set lighting efficiency requirements are currently being reviewed; and I have just agreed increased funding for the Best Practice Programme which, among other things, provides guidance on cost-effective energy efficiency lighting measures to building owners, equipment specifiers and users. The planned budget for the Energy Saving Trust's work to promote energy efficiency for the Department has also been increased, and a new project "Lightswitch" has been approved to promote energy efficient lighting to the non-domestic sector. The Market Transformation Programme will inform Government plans to continue to support Common and Co-ordinated Policy Measures at European level to provide product information, raise product standards and facilitate the procurement of energy 634W efficient lighting products. We plan to introduce a regulation for the mandatory energy labelling of light bulbs next June.