EuropeAid Cooperation Office value SWITCH-Asia efforts

William Hanna, Head of Unit in the EuropeAid Cooperation Office, called the Switch Asia programme a flagship programme. He added: "SWITCH-Asia is built on some lessons we’ve learnt from the past, that it is important to scale up the successful demonstrations and to share the knowledge gained across different countries in Asia. It is a flagship programme as far as EuropeAid Cooperation Office is concerned."

Mr. Hanna continued: "The EU has committed 90 million Euro to this programme. But even this sum is modest relative to the size of Asia and its needs. By focusing on replication of good practices, we hope to engage a large number of SMEs and consumer groups, so that we can reach the tipping point of pattern change in production and consumption. This will enable us to maximise the impact of the funds.

The experiences of project implementation have already shown very exciting results.  The electric motor system project in China is strategically positioned to facilitate large-scale improvements in energy efficiency. Electric motor systems account for 60% of the electricity consumption in China. The SWITCH-Project is, on one hand, convincing motor system users and producers to adopt more efficient technologies, and on the other hand, supporting more energy service companies to be the long-term agents of change. The project is also working in close cooperation with government authorities on establishing energy efficiency standards for motor systems. Such policy uptake will ensure a long-term and system-wide shift towards resource efficiency.

The construction sector is developing very fast in Asia. Housing, together with food and transport, is becoming a major concern when energy consumption and climate change is concerned. One of our SWITCH-Asia projects targets SMEs that provide better insulation for buildings. This encourages provision of better materials and buildings to the consumers that save money on heating and cooling, and reduce emission of greenhouse gases – a real win-win situation. We are looking forward to see more such projects shifting the market towards sustainable production and consumption patterns."