Wed, Oct 31, 2012 -
With Major Economic and Climate Change Benefits
Projects Spanning Africa, the Middle East,
Latin America & South Pacific Build
Capacity and Boost Rapid Deployment of Energy
Efficient
Beijing (China), 31 October 2012 - Efforts
by developing countries to phase-out inefficient
incandescent lamps received a significant
boost today as the UN and partners announced
the opening of the Global Efficient Lighting
Centre (GELC) in Beijing, China.
Launched by the UN Environment
Programme (UNEP) and the Chinese National
Lighting Test Centre, GELC is designed to
support the rapid deployment of energy-efficient
technologies in developing and emerging
countries.
Further Resources
Global Efficient Lighting CentreCountry
lighting assessmentsNational Data on the
Benefits of a Transition to Energy Efficient
Lightingen.lighten initiativeUNEP in the
GEFNational Lighting Test CentreTo date,
almost 50 developing and emerging countries
have committed to phasing out incandescent
lamps by 2016, under the en.lighten initiative
- a partnership between UNEP and the Global
Environemnt Facility (GEF).
According to a UNEP
assessment released last June, a total of
five per cent of global electricity consumption
could be saved every year through a transition
to efficient lighting, resulting in annual
worldwide savings of over US$ 110 billion.
The yearly savings in
electricity of the phase-out would be equivalent
to closing over 250 large coal-fired power
plants, resulting in avoided investment
costs of approximately US$ 210 billion.
Additionally, the 490 megatonnes (Mt) of
CO2 savings per year is equivalent to the
emissions of more than 122 million mid-size
cars.
"One of the most
cost-effective ways to contribute to the
reduction of global carbon emissions is
the phase-out of inefficient lighting technologies,"
said Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General
and UNEP Executive Director.
"Increasing numbers
of countries are now achieving major financial
savings, generating green jobs, and seeing
reductions in mercury, sulphur dioxide,
and other pollutants from power stations,
through a switch to efficient lighting.
Ambitious policies and partnerships must
be seized if the social, economic, and environmental
benefits of a transition to a low-carbon,
resource efficient green economy are to
be realized."
The newly-launched Collaborating
Centre supports developing and emerging
countries by assisting in the establishment
or strengthening of national and/or regional
lighting laboratories by:
Providing technical
advice for the development and implementation
of effective product quality surveillance
mechanisms for national, regional and global
institutions;
Developing quality checking control tests
commissioned by governments and the private
sector;
Providing professional
guidance to countries for establishing new,
or enhancing exisiting, lighting laboratories
and quality management systems;
Offering technical training
for the testing of lighting products;
Improving manufacturing
techniques for energy efficient products;
and
Providing expert guidance
for policy and regulatory issues associated
with the production of efficient lighting.
Projects udnertaken
by the Centre include a lamp quality testing
project, conducted in participation with
the en.lighten initative. It aims to strengthen
national quality control and testing systems
and to encourage the development of measurement,
verification and enforcement programs in
fourteen countries.
Due to the technological
shift towards innovative LED technology,
there is a great opportunity for countries
to leapfrog to this advanced lighting solution
in national markets.
Although LED lamps are
currently expensive to buy for individual
consumers, bulk procurement by governments,
tax incentives and subsidies are making
them a viable alternative. LEDs do not contain
any mercury and last up to ten times longer
than their CFL counterparts.
Notes to Editors:
More information on
the en.lighten initiative is available at:
www.enlighten-initiative.org
Country lighting assessments
are available at: http://www.enlighten-initiative.org/portal/Home/tabid/56373/Default.aspx
National Data on the
Benefits of a Transition to Energy Efficient
Lighting can be viewed at: http://www.unep.org/PDF/PressReleases/Table_Energy_Efficient_Lighting_Transition.pdf
Countries that have
joined the en.lighten Global Efficient Lighting
Partnership Programme include: Algeria,
Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Cabo
Verde, Chile, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire,
Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador,
Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinee, Guinee
Bissau, Honduras, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan,
Kuwait, Lebanon, Liberia, Mali, Morocco,
Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Palestine, Panama,
Paraguay, Philippines, Russian Federation,
Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Thailand,
Togolese Republic, Tonga, Tunisia, United
Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Yemen.
Key Facts About Efficient
Lighting:
Electricity for lighting
accounts for almost 20 percent of electricity
consumption and 6 percent of CO2 emissions
worldwide.
The global demand for
artificial light will be 60 percent higher
by 2030 if no switch to efficient lighting
occurs.
Incandescent lamps have
already been phased-out, or are scheduled
to be phased-out in most OECD countries,
Argentina, Brazil, China, Colombia, Mexico,
Vietnam and other developing countries.
Some countries, such
as Nigeria and China, are leapfrogging directly
to light emitting diodes (LEDs) from incandescent
lamps. LEDs do not contain mercury and have
other advantages such as long life and low
heat generation.
About the National Lighting
Test Centre
Founded in 1975, the
National Lighting Test Centre is one of
the most widely respected lighting test
institutions in China. It is an authorized
national testing institution recognized
by the Chinese State Bureau of Quality and
Technical Supervision. The lab has been
contracted as a certified facility for the
European Restriction of the Use of Certain
Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic
Equipment (RoHS) testing.
With its innovative
equipment and team of highly qualified technicians,
NLTC's primary service is third-party testing
and certification testing for a wide range
of lighting products such as light sources,
luminaries, and ballasts.
In addition to testing
procedures, the NLTC is involved in the
development of testing equipment and national
and international standards. It organizes
round robin tests with international labs,
assists other countries to establish their
own national labs.
