Lebanon

Launching of the National Campaign for Energy Efficiency Lamps

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in cooperation with the Ministry of Energy & Water and the Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation (LCEC), launched the National Campaign for Energy Efficiency Lamps on Wednesday 12th November 2008 at Metropolitan Palace Hotel in Sin El Fil. 

The launching was attended by UNDP County Director Mr. Seifeddine Abbaro, representing Ms. Marta Ruedas, UNDP Resident Representative, and Mr. Kamal Hayek, General Director of Electricité Du Liban (EDL), representing H.E. Mr. Alain Taborian, Minster of Energy & Water. 

A large number of NGOs, private and public sector representatives were present at the launching, in addition to various national and regional media institutions along with the participation. 

“Better than carrying the weight of your bill” is the name of the campaign that introduces a number of regulatory measures instrumental in reducing both CO2 emissions and the national energy bill. 

This campaign is the fifth among several successful awareness campaigns launched by the Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation (LCEC) which started with “ Some Turns Off Do Save” Campaign, followed by “ Don’t Burn Your Money to Heat Water” Campaign, and “ Economy is just not an Option: Get an Energy Audit and Save Money” and “ Energy Efficiency to the Classrooms”. 

According to Ms. Rola Khazen, LCECP Marketing and Information coordinator, this campaign aims at informing the public about the advantages and benefits of the compact fluorescent lamp.
“The CFL saves 80% on the lighting bill, with bulb longevity to nine to ten times longer than the regular light bulb, giving the same amount of light. It also comes in different shapes and sizes for indoor and outdoor use,” Ms. Khazen added. 

On behalf of Ms.Marta Ruedas, Mr. Seifeddine Abbaro highlighted that LCECP has already implemented various pilot projects replacing regular light bulbs with CFL bulbs, in different Lebanese villages. As a result, saving around 13% on the total housing bill was noted in the village of Niha in Zahlé & other villages in Aley using CFL bulbs. 

In his speech, Mr.Hayek, on behalf of H.E Minister Alain Taborian, insisted on the importance of reaching good quality standards in imported lamps. Mr. Hayek added that in order to reach success at the economic level, we should work on removing the regular bulb from the market in the framework of a future work plan to be implemented by the year 2012.” 

It should be noted that the launch of the National Campaign for Energy Efficiency Lamps, coincide with a national media campaign including Televisions, radio, newspapers, magazines.The media campaign was followed by intensive interviews on TVs,radios and newspapers.