The en.lighten initiative has released the findings of 150 country lighting assessments which indicate that the financial savings and climate change mitigation benefits achieved by phasing out incandescent lighting in developing and middle-income countries are much more significant than previous studies suggested.
20 June 2012: As part of the en.lighten initiative, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) released the findings of 150 country lighting assessments and a new global policy map on efficient lighting, on the sidelines of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20).
According to UNEP, the many country lighting assessments indicate that the financial savings and climate change mitigation benefits achieved by phasing out incandescent lighting in developing and middle-income countries are much more significant than previous studies suggested. UNEP also announced that under the en.lighten initiative, 14 pilot countries will receive support to develop national phase-out plans for inefficient lamps, in a project that will begin in July 2012.
UNEP also released the global policy map for efficient lighting. The map provides an overview of efficient lighting policies and successes, specifically in the residential sector. Information for each country includes standards, labels, supporting policies, product quality control activities and end-of-life policies.
en.lighten is an initiative funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), in partnership with UNEP, leading global lighting manufacturers (Philips and OSRAM), and the National Lighting Test Centre (NLTC), to accelerate market transformation of efficient lighting technologies on a global scale. [UNEP Press Release] [Global Policy Map Website] [enlighten County Lighting Assessments]