Development and dissemination of clean lighting: model law on lighting for developing countries.

• Author: Guruswamy, Lakshman

A Bill

To promote the development and deployment of clean lighting to save lives, improve livelihoods, empower women, and combat global warming by creating a thriving global market for clean, affordable, and efficient household, commercial and community lighting, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the [legislative organ] of the [developed country] assembled,

Short Title

This Act may be cited as the "Development and Dissemination of Clean Lighting Act of [year]."

Effective Date. This Act becomes effective on [date].

[section] 1. Findings

(a) [Name of country] is a member of the community of nations that has accepted well-recognized principles of international law and policy establishing the right of developing countries to sustainable development.

(b) [Name of country] seeks to support sustainable development pertaining to energy poverty and access to safe and sustainable lighting products through this Act.

(c) It is estimated that of the 1.3 billion people worldwide without access to electricity, most rely on kerosene for illumination.

(d) The use of kerosene for lighting generates indoor air pollution, contributing to the deaths of 1.8 million people per year. Kerosene fires kill more than 1 million people per year.

(e) [Number of people] in [name of country] currently use kerosene for lighting.

(f) Kerosene fires and indoor air pollution cause the deaths of [number of people] in [name of country] per year.

(g) Children are disproportionately vulnerable to the dangers of kerosene. Accidental ingestion of kerosene leads to fever, cough, abdominal discomfort, or death.

(h) Light generated by kerosene lamps is poor and inefficient, rendering it virtually impossible for people, especially women and children, to accomplish household and social tasks, or engage in economic activity after nightfall.

(i) Lighting costs for kerosene are 325-1625 times higher than those for electric light bulbs, and are borne by some of the world's poorest people.

(j) Kerosene is fossil fuel-based, thus a nonrenewable energy source. Kerosene lamps consume an estimated 77 billion liters of fuel per year. Each year, the burning of kerosene for lighting emits 240 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, thus contributing to global climate change.

(k) Safe, sustainable lighting positively impacts the quality of life and environment by:

(i) Allowing women, children, and men to engage in educational and economic endeavors after nightfall,

(ii) Promoting gender equality and women's empowerment,

(iii) Improving household health and safety,

(iv) Alleviating the financial burden presented by kerosene,

(v) Advancing environmental stability by reducing use of kerosene, and

(vi) Reducing contributions to global climate change.

[section] 2. Policy

The House of Parliament hereby declares it is the national policy of [name of country] to:

(a) Appropriate financial resources towards the research and development of the most appropriate and sustainable energy technologies for improved indoor lighting products that advance the objectives of this Act in [name of country];

(b) Foster the growth of a domestic indoor lighting manufacturing industry by supporting entrepreneurs through tax incentives, loans, and micro- and other forms of financing that advance the objectives of this Act;

(c) Ensure that all indoor lighting products meet relevant standards for physical durability, product life-span, and light output;

(d) Install and distribute indoor lighting products in a matter that emphasizes accessibility while encouraging the recipient to contribute to the cost in currency, exchange, and/or sweat equity;

(e) Stimulate community participation in the financing, manufacturing, distribution, and promotion of the objectives of this Act;

(f) Seek the assistance, expertise, guidance, and experience of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and community advocacy groups in all aspects of the implementation of the Act;

(g) Promote awareness and education about indoor air pollution caused by kerosene lamps and lanterns;

(h) Promote the involvement of current kerosene lamp and lantern users, inter alia, in the research, design, development, manufacturing, distribution, monitoring, maintenance, evaluation, and marketing of improved indoor lighting products; and

(i) Conduct training on use and maintenance to indoor lighting product users and community members.

[section] 3. Definitions

For the purposes of this Act;

(a) "Administrator" means the administrator of the Lighting Agency.

(b) "Agency" means the Lighting Agency ("LA").

(c) "Certification" or "certified" refers to certification by an entity or organization in the country of origin, which is authorized by the LA.

(d) "Endangerment" means the exposure, voluntary, or involuntary, of individuals to conditions harmful to their physical health, and includes circumstances arising from willful or negligent misrepresentation.

(e) "Lighting" refers to artificial indoor or outdoor lighting.

(1) "Lighting products," refers to indoor or outdoor lighting suitable for offgrid applications.

(g) "Local conditions" means the socioeconomic conditions in the area, based on an overall assessment of economic factors including the ability to pay, cultural factors including a willingness to change patterns or behavior in use of lighting products, and social factors, including the identification of primary decisionmakers in households, those who are affected most by lack of beneficial lighting, and the primary social agents in communities.

(h) "Micro-financing" refers to loans that are granted for design, production, marketing, distribution, sale, maintenance, and repair of lighting products.

(i) "Minister of Energy" includes other executive branch equivalent administrators found in a non-parliamentary system (e.g. Secretary).

(j) "Organization" means an entity other than a governmental body, which was established or organized for any purpose relevant to this Act. The term refers, inter alia, to a corporation, company, guild, association, partnership, NGO, local community advocacy organization, trust, or trade union.

(k) "PAO," a provincial assessment officer, is defined in Section 4(a) of the Act.

(l) "Sweat equity" includes the labor, skill, goods, or community services offered as consideration by recipients, in part or in full, for lighting products. Sweat equity is transferable among households. Sweat equity includes, but is not limited to, the following activities:

(i) Labor provided in producing, installing or publicizing solar based lighting products;

(ii) Transportation of materials for lighting products; and

(iii) Participation in public education and community outreach.

[section] 4. Establishment of Agency

The Lighting Agency (LA) is hereby established to implement the provisions of this Act. The Administrator of the Agency shall administer this statute by, inter alia:

(a) Conducting Needs Assessments and Developing Specifications

Within 120 days of the adoption of this Act, the LA shall deploy [TV (the number of provinces or sub-national governments)] provincial assessment officers (PAOs), one in each of the country's [A] provinces. PAOs shall, within 6 months of designation, in collaboration with [name of appropriate NGO or NGOs\ and local health personnel, conduct needs assessments that will identify and investigate:

(i) Types of household lighting currently being used in the province;

(ii) Typical expenses associated with household lighting in the province;

(iii) The needs and receptivity of the populace with respect to modern lighting products, with an emphasis on the needs of women and children;

(iv) Local aesthetics and its relationship to the desirability of lighting products;

(v) Any potential barriers to adoption of such lighting products, including cultural and geographic barriers and physical and environmental conditions;

(vi) Exposure to indoor air pollution and other hazards from fuel-based lighting;

(vii) The financial status and market infrastructure of local communities; and

(viii) The feasibility of decentralized power generations that can supply electricity for each community.

(ix) The practicability of installing charging units for batteries

(b) Lighting Product Selection

The LA, in collaboration with the Minister of Energy and the PAOs, will assist in the marketing of lighting products that suit the needs of [name of country].

(c) Pilot Programs

The PAOs, under the direction of the Administrator and with the assistance of [an appropriate organization], shall carry out pilot programs in each province, which can be replicated in the rest of the country, for the purpose of identifying challenges and developing procedures in advance of full national implementation. The communities selected for the pilot programs by the Agency shall be the ones in which:

(i) Electricity is not widely available;

(ii) Surveys and Needs Assessments, carried out by the PAOs, reveal that a majority in the community want to participate in the Pilot Project;

(iii) There are not more than 500 households

(iv) Individuals are willing and able to pay for lighting products through sweat equity, currency, or other forms of exchange.

(v) The population is demographically representative of the [number of people in the country] that do not have access to modern lighting.

(d) Completion and Review of the Pilot Projects

At least two Pilot Projects shall be completed within targeted communities for each province before attempting the widespread installation of lighting products in the rest of the province. The data revealed by each Pilot Project and the lessons learned shall be analyzed and reviewed in a Pilot Project Report generated by the LA which will, among other things, clarify the goals of the pilot projects, and whether these goals were met. This report, as well as the projects themselves, shall be open to scrutiny by the public, NGOs, and by other government officials.

[section] 5. Administrative Discretion

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