Halogen light bulbs to be banned in Europe.

Halogen light bulbs will be banned in Europe on September 1 to encourage consumers to switch over to the more energy-efficient light-emitting diode (LED) technology.

The ban and switch to energy-efficient lamps -- part of Europe's wide-ranging  efforts  to  limit  damage to the environment- is estimated to bring yearly energy savings equivalent to Portugal's annual electricity consumption.

Phasing out inefficient lamps will "save 15.2 million tons of CO² emissions by 2025," said Anna-Kaisa  Itkonen, European Commission spokeswoman for climate action and energy.

"This is the equivalent to the emissions generated by around 2 million people per year. This is a significant contribution to the fight against climate change."