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IIEC Shares Regional Cooling Experience at Pacific Network Meeting
The International Institute for Energy Conservation (IIEC) strengthened its regional engagement at the recent Pacific Island Countries Network Meeting and Technical Workshop on HFC Licensing and Quota Systems, held from May 5–9, 2025, in Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Representing IIEC, Mr. Sommai Phon-Amnuaisuk, Director for Asia-Pacific, shared IIEC’s extensive experience in conducting cooling appliance market assessments across Southeast Asia to support development of market profiles, estimation of energy savings potential, analysis of efficiency values of air conditioners, and development of the ASEAN regional roadmap for Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) for room air conditioners. The more recent cooling appliance market assessments in 2023 and 2024 were undertaken to support more stringent MEPS requirements for room air conditioners in Malaysia and Singapore and also to support the development of Green Public Procurement (GPP) guidelines in ASEAN. Building on these successes, IIEC is keen to support four Pacific Island Countries - FSM, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu - in developing market assessments and end-user incentive schemes.
Mr. Sommai also shared key insights from the “Demonstration of Innovative Technology and Business Models for Efficient and Clean Cooling in the Pacific” (Cooling Demo Project), funded by the Clean Cooling Collaborative (formerly the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program – K-CEP). The project showcased innovative, energy-efficient, and low-GWP cooling technologies across both commercial and government sectors in the Pacific. He highlighted the challenges encountered during the project’s implementation from 2019 to 2021. This hands-on experience is highly relevant and valuable to the upcoming cooling efficiency demonstration projects soon to be undertaken by Pacific Island countries.
Through its technical expertise and strong commitment to regional collaboration, IIEC aims to contribute significantly to the Pacific’s transition to sustainable cooling by supporting policy development and market-based incentive mechanisms, ensuring long-term environmental and economic benefits for end-users.
Photo Source: Department of Climate Change, Tonga
