The environmental group Greenpeace is pressuring the Mexican Parliament and businesses to promote the replacement of incandescent light bulbs with ecological alternatives. “By replacing them, there are big savings in terms of mitigating climate change and in subsidies for electrical consumption,” Greenpeace's energy efficiency campaign coordinator Beatriz Olivera told Tierramérica.

The goal is for lawmakers to approve this month a reform of the 2008 Sustainable Energy Use Law that would ban, as of 2012, the marketing of the inefficient light bulbs.

According to Greenpeace, some 270 million incandescent bulbs are sold annually in Mexico. They consume four times more energy and last one-tenth of the hours of more efficient bulbs.

The “green” light bulbs would avoid the emission of 8.6 million tons of carbon dioxide and would save some 80 million dollars in electricity consumption annually in Mexico.