World | bulbs EU Will Ban Incandescent Bulbs Capacity might be only speed bump to quick switch to CFLs By Nick McMaster Posted Jun 19, 2008 2:07 PM CDT Copied School children walk past a huge "Ban the Bulb" banner put up by Greenpeace environmental activists in Calcutta, India, Thursday, April 19, 2007. (AP Photo/Bikas Das) The European Union is set to begin phasing out the incandescent light bulb in favor of compact fluorescent bulb, Der Spiegel reports. The highest-wattage bulbs will go next year; the transition to CFLs—using a fifth of the energy and lasting 10 times longer—should be complete in 2015. Read These Next The 8 Democrats who bucked party on shutdown have something in common. Hormone therapy for menopause was unfairly demonized, says the FDA. Here's where things stand in the House ahead of shutdown vote. Merchants could slap new surcharges on certain credit card purchases. Report an error