Indonesia Leads the Global Transition to Clean Lighting
Jakarta, Indonesia – The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) released a Roadmap outlining the development and transition to high-efficiency, mercury-free lamps in Indonesia. The objectives of the Roadmap align with a proposed amendment to the Minamata Convention on Mercury, proposing to phase out virtually all mercury-containing fluorescent bulbs globally by 2025.
The roadmap was conducted under the ADLIGHT project, a national initiative to reduce electricity consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in Indonesia by stimulating the domestic production of high-efficiency LED lighting technology. It outlines local lighting industry capacity, the quality and price of lamps, policy action plans, capacity building, gender equality, and environmental protection.
The roadmap introduces an action plan to phase out mercury-containing fluorescent lighting products by 2025; reducing CO2 emissions by 36 million tonnes and mercury emissions by 125 kg (2019-2035). It was heavily driven by research by CLASP, a leading international voice and resource for appliance efficiency policies and market acceleration initiatives, and local partners. The research demonstrates:
- Projections indicate non-LED lamps, such as incandescent, compact fluorescent, and linear fluorescent lamps, will be entirely replaced by high-efficient LED lamps by 2030.
- Locally manufactured lamps perform as well or better than imported products. The average efficacy – measured in lumens/watt – of local LED bulbs is 93 lm/W, higher than the moderate efficacy of imported LED bulbs (i.e., 89 lm/W). The lifespan of local LED bulbs reaches 40 thousand hours, with an average value of 20 thousand hours. In comparison, imported LED bulbs’ average and maximum lifespan are 15 thousand hours and 30 thousand hours, respectively.
- Locally manufactured LED lamp prices are also competitive and cost-effective. Local LED bulbs range from IDR 556 /W ($0.04 USD) to IDR 15,500 /W ($1.08 USD), with an average price of IDR 3,972 /W ($0.28 USD). Comparatively, the price range for imported LED bulbs is IDR 831 – 35,800 /W ($0.06 – $2.49 USD) with an average price of IDR 8,264/W ($0.58/W).
- The market share of local and high-efficiency lamps for the professional sector is expected to increase from 12% in 2019 to 19% in 2025, 50% in 2030, and 75% in 2035.
Phasing-out mercury-containing fluorescents, coupled with policies that stimulate local LED manufacturing and sales will allow the Indonesian lighting market to grow, while simultaneously increasing exports to trade partners. In March, Indonesia has a unique opportunity to fulfill the objectives of the roadmap and support a global transition to LEDs.
On 21-25 March, Indonesia will welcome 136 countries – representing more than 6 billion people – to the Minamata Convention on Mercury fourth Conference of Parties (COP4) in Bali. As lighting markets in wealthy countries shift to clean LED lighting, less-regulated markets – including Indonesia – may experience “environmental dumping” of old fluorescent technologies. Many OECD countries – like the EU-27 – have passed or are considering policies that will ban the sale of mercury-laden, inefficient lighting products in their domestic markets. However, they would still allow domestic manufacture and export to less developed and emerging markets. This puts the public and environmental health of those countries at risk.
At COP4, the 137 countries will vote on a proposed amendment by the African region that would end the manufacture, export and import of mercury-based fluorescent lighting products by 2025. If adopted, the cumulative (2025-2050) global benefits of the African Lighting Amendment would be significant:
- Eliminate 232 tonnes of mercury pollution from the environment, both from the light bulbs themselves and from avoided mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants;
- Reduce global electricity use by 3%;
- Avoid 3.5 gigatonnes of CO2 emissions cumulatively between 2025-2050; equivalent to removing all passenger cars globally from the road for a whole year; and
- Save US$1 trillion on electricity bills.
By supporting the African lighting amendment, Indonesia will forward the action plan outlined in the ADLIGHT Roadmap, ensuring people and businesses access to high-quality, locally manufactured LED lighting technologies.