PR94022

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, Jan. 18, 2022 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

Cambodia begins the new year as the first nation in Southeast Asia to publish a

plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The roadmap, known officially as a

"Long-term strategy for Carbon Neutrality (LTS4CN)", was submitted to the

United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on the 30th of December

2021. This fulfilled a promise by Prime Minister Hun Sen to present such a plan

by the end of 2021 and it followed on the heels of his government's pledge, at

COP26 Glasgow last November, to reduce Cambodia's greenhouse gas emissions by

more than 40 percent of median levels by 2030.

"Implementation of the carbon neutrality strategy in Cambodia is expected to

increase our nation's GDP by nearly 3 percent and to create some 449,000 jobs

by 2050" says Say Samal, Minister of the Environment for Cambodia. "Forestry

sector reforms, decarbonization of transport systems and the promotion of

low-carbon agricultural and goods production processes will lead the way to a

greener economy and more sustainable prosperity for all."

Minister Samal lauds the efforts of his government, the Ministry of the

Environment, and those of Cambodia's National Council for Sustainable

Development for committing to go beyond putting pen to paper. "In good times

and bad, Prime Minister Hun Sen has proven that he is a man of his word, and I

take pride in following his example" says Say Samal. "Cambodia has a solemn

obligation to do its part, in concert with more developed nations, to achieve

net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050."

Cambodia's "Long-term strategy for Carbon Neutrality (LTS4CN)" is designed to

be a synergistic approach that seeks to balance economic growth and social

justice with greenhouse gas reductions and climate resilience. The Cambodia

Climate Change Alliance program (funded by the European Union, Sweden, and the

United Nations Development Program), the United Kingdom, the World Bank, the

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Global Green

Growth Institute and the Agence Française de Développement have contributed

their extensive expertise to the preparation of this strategy. We are most

grateful for their input, and we welcome their assistance in the coming years.

Cambodia has a 400 megawatt foothold in solar energy development. The country

is steering away from coal-fired power generation and hydro power development

on the Mekong River has been ruled out. "We are seeing "REDD" when it comes to

our forestry resources" says Say Samal. "REDD, as in "Reducing Emissions from

Deforestation and forest degradation in Developing countries" - a program

sponsored by the United Nations. Cambodia is committed to reducing

deforestation by half by the year 2030 and to reaching zero emissions in its

forestry sector by 2040."

We have seen the global community come together to face down a biological

threat that most of us could not have imagined barely two years ago. Yet, we

had been warned. Let us heed the warnings about global warming. Let us apply

ourselves with the same resolve, by increasing international funding for

climate change mitigation initiatives. Cambodia stands ready.

Please click the link below to consult the official LTS4CN document as prepared

by the Government of Cambodia.

https://bit.ly/3t1BfIL

Media Contact: Neth Pheaktra, Secretary of State and Spokesperson of the MOE,

Phone: Tel: (855) 12 483 283, Email: pheaktra.neth@moe.gov.kh

SOURCE: Ministry of Environment, Cambodia