Greenpeace volunteers hand out energy saving light bulbs. Greenpeace is calling on the Irish Government to take the lead in Europe by passing a law setting mandatory, ever-improving, efficiency standards for light bulbs by 1 January 2010. Incandescent light bulbs waste as heat up to 97 per cent of the energy they consume. As much as 15 per cent of Ireland's residential electricity demand could be saved by switching to energy saving light bulbs. Irish Government negotiators will be attending next week's UN climate conference, in Bali, Indonesia, which will be laying the foundation for extending the Kyoto Protocol – the only international climate treaty with legally-binding greenhouse gas emissions targets.