According to new data analyzed by the firm IHS Markit, we now have evidence that the growing use of LED bulbs is having a distinct, positive effect on emissions. LEDs throw off the same degree of light, while chewing up 40% less energy than fluorescent bulbs.

Last year alone, LEDs took more than half a billion tons off the table. That could amount to a one and a half percent reduction in the world’s carbon footprint, the equivalent of mothballing more than 160 coal-burning power plants.

LED lights offer two things for the carbon-conscious: proof of quick energy savings and hope that technology can add swifter gains while more difficult changes in consumption develop smoothly over time.

Read the full article about LED light bulbs by James Poulus at GOOD Magazine.