Global Challenge Sets Sales Target for Affordable Advanced Lighting Products

One of three new initiatives launched at the recent Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA) and the sixth Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM6) in Merida, Mexico, the CEM Global Lighting Challengeestablishes a global race to reach cumulative sales of 10 billion high efficiency, high quality and affordable advanced lighting products as quickly as possible. With lighting accounting for 15% of global electricity usage, replacing the world’s existing lighting with these products could save over $100 billion in electricity costs alone and lower annual CO2 emissions by 534 million metric tons.

Participating countries include Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, the United States, and the Directorate-General for Energy of the European Commission. Canada is not participating.

The ministers also established two other initiatives:

• North American Energy Ministers Working Group on Climate and Energy with Canada and Mexico.The working group continues a dialogue begun last December and supports the implementation of clean energy and climate change goals for each of the three countries. Areas of cooperation include reliable, resilient, and low-carbon electricity grids; modelling and deployment of clean energy technologies; energy efficiency for equipment, appliances, industries, and buildings; carbon capture, use, and storage; climate change adaptation and resilience; and emissions reduction from the oil and gas sector.

• ECPA Western Hemisphere Clean Energy Initiative, under which participating countries intend to work toward a collective doubling of renewable sources such as solar, wind, small-scale hydropower, sustainable biomass, and geothermal, by 2030.

These initiatives will further strengthen momentum to accelerate clean energy technologypolicies andcombat climate change ahead of the December 2015 climate talks in Paris. At both ECPA and CEM6, energy ministers discussed technology solutions to grow low-carbon economies while helping to implement national commitments to reduce climate pollution.

“ECPA and CEM6 were two vital opportunities for some of the world’s most important clean energy leaders to come together to cooperate on clean energy solutions ahead of climate negotiations in Paris this December,” said Secretary Moniz. “The outcome of these two meetings will play an important role in facilitating the world’s transition to a clean energy economy through regional and global cooperation.”