The Launch of Cambodia’s Long-term Strategy for Carbon Neutrality (LTS4CN)

Good afternoon and thank you Dr. Ponlok for the invitation to participate in the panel discussion for the launch of Cambodia’s Long Term Strategy for Carbon Neutrality (LTS4CN). My intervention is in three parts. First, why the launch of the LTS4CN is significant. Second, what are the remaining challenges. And third, how the UN is supporting.

First, on the why this is so important.

I actually agree with how you introduced today’s event, Dr. Ponlok, as a celebration. We actually do need to congratulate Cambodia for being only the second LDC globally to submit a Long Term Strategy with a clear carbon neutrality target, and the first country in ASEAN to submit an LTS with a 2050 target. Cambodia is now well positioned to push for an ambitious climate agenda during its chairmanship of ASEAN.

The time is now. I quote my boss, the UN Secretary General when he said, “we are knocking on the door of climate catastrophe. It is time to go into emergency mode or the chances of reaching net zero emissions will itself be zero”. Although the biggest responsibility falls on large emitters, Cambodia is showing that even vulnerable countries with relatively low levels of emission need to demonstrate a sense of urgency and contribute to global efforts in line with their responsibilities and capacities.

Second, even with this milestone, there are key challenges that need to be addressed.

The energy sector will still have significant emissions in 2050, with coal being the issue. The investments in coal power plants may not be profitable in long term as renewable energy becomes cheaper. A key area to focus is on assessing the various renewable energy technologies (solar and wind) and on strengthening the grid using technology to help integrate more and more renewable energy.

We also know that the Forest and Other Land Use (FOLU) sector is the key driver of Cambodia decarbonization and will play a major role to become a carbon sink by 2050 and to compensate for remaining emissions from other sectors. For this to happen, urgent action action is required to reduce deforestation and promote sustainable forestry models, in line with the REDD+ strategy.

Third, how are we already supporting climate action?

Cambodia and the UN has a long-standing partnership from the adoption of the Rio Conventions to the present day. The Cambodia Climate Change Alliance, implemented by UNDP with financing from EU and Sweden, has supported a gradual expansion of the climate change response in Cambodia over the past decade, including most recently the development of Cambodia’s updated Nationally Determined Contribution and now the LTS4CN. UNDP and FAO, both Representatives are here in the audience, have also played a critical role in developing a national nested system for REDD+. UNEP is expecting to start a project in 2023 to support decarbonization of the power sector. The UN can also contribute to sustainable transport. UNDP is working with the Ministry of Economy and Finance on incentives for adoption of electric vehicles EVs and with Ministry of Public Works and Transport MOPWT on defining a roadmap for a national network of charging stations.

Specifically on support to the LTS, the UNCT stands ready to support the Royal Government to implement the 31 identified actions, with specialized UN funds and programmes taking the lead in specific sectors in line with their respective capabilities.

We will also support facilitation for Cambodia’s access to high quality carbon markets for the priority actions included in the LTS4CN. We will seek to put in place the systems to track implementation and financing needs, for both the NDC and the LTS4CN, for use by the public, private and community sectors. The work has already started with climate financing as part of the engagement with the Ministry of Economy and Finance on the Integrated National Financing Framework (INFF) and the national budget climate tagging exercise to track climate public investment.

The UN will continue to work with Government, civil society and private sector partners to design and prototype climate smart innovations and solutions suited to the Cambodian.

I conclude by:

Highlighting that political commitment, technical capacity and access to finance are the key drivers to allow the transition to carbon neutrality to happen. The full implementation of the REDD+ Investment Plan is a major milestone under this vision that can only happen if Cambodia is able to unlock climate funding through different mechanisms.

We will also need collaboration and new ways of working across sectors.

I also want to advocate that we will need to strike a balance between mitigation actions in the strategy, without losing sight of the adaptation actions outlined in Cambodia’s NDC. Climate change impacts the most vulnerable - children, women, the disabled, the elderly, and socially marginalized groups. Climate adaptation in key public and social sectors such as education, health, social protection and WASH systems are equally critical investments that need to be made.

Finally, I stress the importance of engaging young people, along with civil society and private sector partners. One low-hanging fruit is to make the LTS4CN accessible to them. The UN can facilitate their participation in sustainable natural resource management and green growth actions highlighted in the strategy.

Carbon neutrality, climate action is an ambitious agenda. Kudos to Cambodia for making this a priority.