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Transition Strategies Begin in en.lighten Partner Countries
In the framework of the UNEP/GEF en.lighten initiative’s Global Partnership Programme, the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining, together with the Ministry of Housing, Territorial Planning and Environment of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, launched the inception workshop to introduce the development of a National Efficient Lighting Strategy.
The workshop took place from 7 – 8 August, 2012, in the capital, Montevideo. It is the first to be organized as a key component of the Global Partnership Programme, a voluntary initiative for countries to work with en.lighten to achieve a coordinated national or regional transition to efficient lighting. Support is provided by en.lighten, along with its international partners, in the development of policies, strategies and actions for the phase-out of inefficient lighting products. The Global Partnership Programme supports the global phase-out of inefficient incandescent lamps by the end of 2016.
The meeting in Montevideo introduced the current status of energy efficient lighting in Uruguay to a wide audience including; ministerial officers, non-governmental organizations, utilities, universities, private sector companies, local and regional government representatives, and members of civil society. The en.lighten initiative provided experts to introduce an integrated policy approach that comprises a National Efficient Lighting Strategy including: minimum energy performance standards (MEPs) to ensure the efficiency and quality of products; supporting policies and mechanisms to help restrict the supply of inefficient lighting and promote the demand for MEPS- compliant products; monitoring, verification and enforcement (MVE) which discourages the distribution of poor quality products; and, environmental sustainability actions such as product guidelines and sound disposal and recycling plans.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the National Coordinating team captured the opinions, concerns and proposals from all the stakeholders to guide national priorities and actions in order to develop a successful roadmap leading to a comprehensive and customized National Efficient Lighting Strategy in Uruguay.
Chile will be the next country to benefit from an inception workshop in early September. For all Partner countries, online support and access to professional resources through email and by telephone will be available for the development of national transition activities. Technical webinars and modelling tools will also be provided.
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