In which sectors could new illumination technology strategically reduce CO2 emissions?

Illumination is responsible for the consumption of 19% of the total electricity consumption worldwide. Efforts to reduce the consumption of this energy fraction are, therefore, increasingly taking the attention of many governments. Denmark, as one of the leader countries in environmental actions, is engaged in several actions to reduce its CO₂ emissions. The problem severity demands a capacity to react quickly and efficiently to better reach the international goals.   Traditionally, the efforts have concentrated on the residential sector. Consequently, the aim of this paper is to contribute to the discussion on where the effort shall be strategically directed. We look at the international tendencies with specific focus on Europe and chose Denmark as a representative example to illustrate the way in which the policies focus on the residential sector instead of the commercial and services sectors. This paper conclude that the available statistics so far show that in Europe the commercial and service sector is responsible for the highest electricity consumption due to illumination. The same pattern repeats in Denmark. Therefore, this paper argues that in order to achieve even more optimal solutions, a more detailed differentiation of data shall be pursued by the electricity companies. It is suggested that detecting the right sector will give possibilities to better target actions with higher impact potential.