Switching off lights when leaving a room, adopting energy-efficient lighting and making full use of daylight could prevent energy lighting soaring by 80 percent by 2030, the West's Energy watchdog said on Thursday.
Lighting represents some 20 percent of global electricity use, the International Energy Agency (IEA), adviser to 26 industrialised nations on energy policy, said in a report.
"If we simply make better use of today's efficient lighting technologies and techniques, global lighting energy demand need be no greater at that time (2030)," IEA executive director Claude Mandil told a news conference.
He said following the measures outlined in the report, such as better use of daylight or using compact fluorescent lamps, would save more than 16,000 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions and would avoid $2.6 trillion in total expenditure on lighting through reduced energy and maintenance costs.
"People are confused by what is available to them and are often discouraged by the initial cost of energy-efficient light bulbs," Mandil said.
But the IEA added that compact fluorescent lamps were in fact three times cheaper than ordinary incandescent lights, taking into account the initial cost of bulbs, their lifespans and electricity costs.
The report comes ahead of a meeting of G8 world leaders in July expected to focus on energy and is a component of the IEA's response to the G8 which mandated it last July to identify strategies and scenarios for a more sustainable energy future.
"We don't expect decisions to be made next month by world leaders but we want to set the scene for changing behaviours as a lot is at stake," Mandil said.
The commercial sector has the lion's share of lighting electricity consumption with 43 percent, followed by the residential sector with 31 percent, the IEA said.
"Government and the private sector must grasp the opportunity that energy efficient lighting offers, if we are to attain the clean and competitive economy that we seek," Mandil said.