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en.lighten Welcomes 50th Partner Country and Ramps up Country Activities
The en.lighten initiative welcomes Ecuador, Qatar and St. Lucia as the newest Partner countries. To date, 50 countries have joined the en.lighten Global Efficient Lighting Partnership Programme, to achieve an accelerated global phase-out of inefficient incandescent lamps by the end of 2016. The Partnership supports national regulators and regional bodies in the development of policies, strategies and actions for the phase-out of inefficient lighting products.
The workshop raised awareness and built consensus on the various technical options available at regional and international levels for the development of a concrete regional efficient lighting strategy. Addressing gender issues was also on the agenda, as women are both the proponents and beneficiaries of positive changes in the energy sector. The regional transition to efficient lighting will follow an integrated approach which includes minimum energy performance standards; quality control programs; policy frameworks and finance mechanisms; and, environmentally sound management practices, including collection and recycling of spent lampsen.lighten has chosen certain pilot countries and regions to facilitate the accelerated transition to efficient lighting following a country-led, integrated policy approach. Following this type of approach will ensure that all relevant authorities and stakeholders are involved to guarantee that the agreed upon National Efficient Lighting Strategy figures prominently in the transition process. These stakeholders include: Ministries of Energy, Ministries of the Environment, energy efficiency agencies, private sector organizations and civil society groups.
Inception workshops have been held in most pilot countries or regions. The workshops have served to introduce the current status of national and regional energy efficient lighting initiatives to a wide audience. The Multi-Thematic Workshop on the Development of the Regional Efficient Lighting Strategy in ECOWAS was held in Dakar, Senegal in early July in conjunction with the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE). This workshop established a regionally coordinated strategy for the transition to energy efficient lighting technologies for both grid and off-grid.
Also in July 2013, Jordan conducted a closing workshop to present the draft Jordan National Efficient Lighting Action Plan (JNELAP) to phase out inefficient lighting by 2016. The workshop brought together high level national authorities and decision-makers, as well as regional banks and development agencies interested in supporting the implementation of the finalized action plan.
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