An en.lighten regional meeting of 16 countries' energy and climate change officials concluded with the adoption of the Beirut Declaration, in which all governments support an integrated transition to efficient lighting including policies and procedures to address all aspects of replacement products and practices, including sound disposal and recycling.
30 September 2011: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and Global Environment Facility (GEF) en.lighten Partnership has announced that government officials in the Middle East and North Africa have agreed to phase-out incandescent light bulbs.
The agreement was reached at an en.lighten regional meeting of 16 countries’ energy and climate change officials, convened in conjunction with the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) and the Beirut Energy Forum, on 28 September, in Beirut, Lebanon.
According to the en.lighten Partnership, participants agreed to a Beirut Declaration, in which all governments support an integrated transition to efficient lighting including policies and procedures to address all aspects of replacement products and practices, including sound disposal and recycling. The Declaration states that the phase-out of incandescent lamps is one of the easiest ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and achieve significant energy and financial savings. UNEP is the overall coordinator of the en.lightnen initiative, which is funded by the GEF Earth Fund. [en.Lighten Press Release] [en.Lighten Initiative Homepage]