6 May 2015
ASEAN Commits to Efficient Lighting
story highlights

A commitment announced by member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at the 19th annual meeting of the Energy Efficiency & Conservation Sub-Sector Network (EE&C-SSN) could slash electricity consumption by 35 terawatt hours (TWh) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 20 million tons annually, according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

Under the commitment, ASEAN members will switch to high efficiency lighting solutions.

logo_asean_unep28 April 2015: A commitment announced by member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at the 19th annual meeting of the Energy Efficiency & Conservation Sub-Sector Network (EE&C-SSN) could slash electricity consumption by 35 terawatt hours (TWh) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 20 million tons annually, according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Under the commitment, ASEAN members will switch to high efficiency lighting solutions.

At the meeting, the Directors of Energy of the ASEAN countries agreed to a six-step plan for harmonizing lighting standards and policy. The plan includes: assessing the regional market; developing a regional roadmap; implementing the roadmap at the national level; raising awareness through campaigns and activities for end-users; and forming a working group and steering committee to implement the plan.

The regional market for high quality lighting products, such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs), is expected to benefit from the ASEAN Economic Community, which will develop a single market in 2015 and foster intraregional trade. Regional standardization of policies for lighting and light products are further expected to promote trade.

EE&C-SSN members expect to complete national implementation of the roadmap by early 2018, with assistance from the ASEAN Center for Energy (ACE), the UNEP en.lighten initiative and lites.asia. According to UNEP en.lighten, the commitment to switch to efficient lighting could result in annual savings of more than US$3.5 billion in consumer electricity bills.

The ASEAN members are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. [UNEP Press Release] [lites.asia Press Release] [IISD RS Story on Efficient Lighting Workshop on Policy Options for ASEAN] [en.lighten Website]