Mercury is a highly toxic heavy metal that poses a global threat to human health and the environment. Mercury is one of the top 10 chemicals of major public health concern, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) as it affects the nervous, digestive and immune systems, and also has adverse effects on the environment, including water and soil, and when released to the atmosphere where it is transported around the globe and bioaccumulates in the food chain. Despite this, it is still used in various products and processes, including lighting products such as high pressure sodium lamps, mercury vapor lamps, linear fluorescent lamps (LFLs) and compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs).

The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a global treaty that aims to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury by eliminating its use in products and processes worldwide. It entered into force in 2017 following ratification by 50 countries and, as of June 2023, 143 parties have now ratified the Convention. Although the original text of the Convention included special exemptions for mercury-based fluorescent lighting products, 137 parties agreed to phase out two of the three proposed categories of CFLs by 2025 at the Minamata Convention Conference of Parties (COP4) in 2022. It is expected that negotiations on the phase-out dates for LFLs will continue at the fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury (COP5) in October 2023. Against this background, a number of countries have expressed concerns about the possible timeframe for the phase-out of LFLs, as well as the existing challenges and the need for further information on both technical and market aspects.

To address these concerns, a focused technical session, Transitioning to Mercury-Free Lighting in Asia-Pacific Countries, was convened by the UNEP Global Mercury Partnership as part of its work area on Mercury in Products, in collaboration with the UNEP United for Efficiency (U4E) programme and the Clean Lighting Coalition, with the support of the Government of Switzerland, to provide an opportunity for countries to exchange information on the transition to mercury-free lighting, sharing experiences on best practices, market trends and mercury-free lighting technology.

The session was held in Geneva on 19 and 20 June 2023, back-to-back with a Global Workshop on Mercury-Added Products organised by the Secretariat of the Minamata Convention from 21 to 23 June 2023. The Workshop provided a platform for countries to share their concerns, challenges and possible ways forward, and provided information on recent market developments, economic considerations and the technical feasibility of phasing-out mercury-based lamps. It also provided an opportunity to share experiences on policy measures and key success stories on phasing out fluorescent lighting in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, with a specific focus on the categories of fluorescent lamps that will be discussed at COP5.

Although not the largest source of mercury in products and processes, mercury-based lamps, especially compact fluorescent lamps (with 3-30 mg of per lamps) and LFLs (with 3-5 mg for the T5 type and 5-10 mg for the T8 or T12 type) are still widely used worldwide. Global mercury consumption ranged from 112 to 173 tonnes in 2015[1].  Thus, central to the discussion was the premise that the transition of global markets to safe, cost-effective, and energy-saving light emitting diode (LED) lighting is synonymous with the phase out of mercury containing lighting.

This was highlighted by U4E team of experts who presented a global overview of the lighting supply chain, and advances in lighting technology, including the global capacity of manufacturers to support an LED transition by as early as 2025. On the implementation side, they provided an introduction to U4E’s integrated policy approach for market transformation as a means to phase out mercury-based lighting, and the tools it has available to support the phase-out of mercury-based lamps, such as the Model Regulation Guidelines for Energy Efficiency and Functional Performance Requirements for lighting products and the Green Public Procurement Technical Guidelines and Specifications for Energy-efficient Lighting.

Indeed, policies and regulations can play a key role in the phase out of fluorescent lighting. The best linear fluorescent lamps are about 110 lm/W, whereas typical LED linear lamps are better than 145 lm/W. Setting ambitious efficacy levels within Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) can make it unattainable for this type of technology to comply, and thus, these mercury containing lamps are automatically banned from the market. Another alternative, included in the Model Regulation Guidelines, is to add specific requirements within the MEPS regulations requiring zero mercury content.

MEPS are fundamental to properly regulate LED products and ensure the products comply with the best international quality and performance standards, protecting consumers and preserving fairness and transparency in lighting markets around the globe. If poor LED quality products are available in the market, consumers will have a bad experience, potentially provoking pushback to the technology and a return to the old, well known mercury containing, fluorescent lighting. Consumer public awareness campaigns are therefore important to inform end users about the rationale for switching away from fluorescent lighting. This includes information on the technology benefits, how to understand energy labels and on life cycle costing (to avoid considering only the purchase price as the unique factor for decision making).

It was clear from the discussions during the technical session, that there is considerable interest, need and concern amongst countries around the phase out of mercury-added lamps. Avoiding any delay in implementation is crucial to maximising the global benefits of phasing out fluorescent lamps and successfully transitioning to mercury free, highly energy efficient and safe lighting alternatives that will deliver significant energy, financial and greenhouse gas emission savings.

For more information on the technical session or U4E’s resources to support the transition to energy-efficient lighting, contact Soledad Garcia at soledad.garcia@un.org.

[1] UNEP, 2017 Global mercury supply, trade and demand