25 January 2012: The latest issue of the e-newsletter for the en.lighten Partnership of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and Global Environment Facility (GEF) includes a message from UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner, inviting all countries and organizations that are addressing the climate change challenge by improving energy efficiency and access to join the en.lighten Partnership.

The newsletter also includes an article on the launch of a national energy efficiency programme in Nigeria. It indicates that over the next year, a study will be conducted in Nigeria to determine actual energy consumption and the level of efficiency of lighting, refrigerators and air conditioners. The results of this study will then be used to guide Nigeria in establishing minimum energy performance standards. en.lighten highlights that energy efficiency training will be extended to key federal policy makers, members of the national assembly, architects and building engineers, NGOs and manufacturers.

The newsletter also notes that a draft of the efficient lighting toolkit is currently being reviewed by the en.lighten Taskforce. Titled “Achieving the Global Transition to Energy Efficient Lighting Toolkit,” the document intends to provide technical guidance for countries on how to transform their markets to efficient lighting. It is anticipated that the document will be finalized and disseminated in the second quarter of 2012.

This edition of the newsletter also features articles on: the Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa; a South-East Asian Conference on the Transition to Energy Efficient Lighting; and the European Commission Green Paper on LED Lighting.

en.lighten is an initiative funded by the 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. [Publication: en.lighten Newsletter January 2012 Issue 4]