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Planet vs jobs: the lights are on in the EU but no one's home
Richard Delevan

 


THE price of energy-efficient light bulbs could be cut to match those for old-fashioned incandescent bulbs if EU governments were to follow the European Commission's recommendation that a 66% import duty on Chinese bulbs be lifted. But days before Dick Roche suggested last week that Ireland ban or tax oldfashioned bulbs, EU governments quietly moved to maintain the surcharge in order to protect European manufacturers, the Sunday Tribune has learned.

Last week the minister for the environment said Ireland should consider a tax on old-fashioned incandescent light bulbs, which waste nearly 95% percent of their energy as heat but are cheap to make.

An Irish-made, 100-watt incandescent bulb sells for 76 cents at Tesco and Superquinn. The cheapest energy-efficient compact fluorescent (CFL) bulb costs Euro5.49 at Tesco. ie. By making the old incandescent bulbs more expensive, goes the thinking, it would encourage consumers to buy energy-efficient bulbs that use a fraction of the energy and last years.

Instead, European trade ministries actually moved to keep energy-efficient bulb prices artificially high.

Since 2002 the EU has placed a 66% import duty on CFL bulbs made by several Chinese manufacturers, accusing the Chinese of "dumping" cheap energy-efficient bulbs on the European market.

Critics charge, however, that the anti-dumping tax on Chinese imports is really about protecting manufacturing jobs at German firm Siemens, which owns the Osram brand of energy-efficient lightbulbs. Dutch firm Phillips is also a major supplier of the bulbs, but it faces a 33% tariff on its bulbs - something to do with its lowcost manufacturing in Asia. Phillips and US bulb manufacturer GE say they are in favour of lifting the surcharge.

A Department of the Environment spokesman would only say that the area of trade tariffs had nothing to do with the minister's portfolio.




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