The much-anticipated launch of the Cambodia Climate Change Summit 2022 (CCCS22) got underway Monday evening, with a welcome reception that saw leading actors in both the public and private sectors meet to begin reflecting on the progress Cambodia has made towards climate-related issues.
The official proceedings began Tuesday morning with opening remarks by H.E. Minister of Environment Say Samal, U.S. Ambassador Mr. W Partick Murphy, and Director General of Mekong Future Initiative Mr. Allen Dodgson Tan.
“The United States is committed to leading and taking bold action to confront the climate crisis and strengthen energy security. At COP26, President Biden announced $3 billion in adaptation financing to reduce climate change impacts on those most vulnerable. Through regional initiatives under our Mekong-U.S. Partnership, we are expanding green energy solutions and working with regional officials to address waste management issues.” said Ambassador W. Patrick Murphy, U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia, “In Cambodia, the United States has invested over $100 million in foreign assistance focused on combating climate change, including facilitating the sale of more than $40 million in carbon credits to U.S. companies such as The Walt Disney Company and Delta Airlines. In the last five years, USAID Cambodia’s agriculture and environment activities have helped Cambodian farmers apply climate-smart agricultural practices and eliminated an estimated 25 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions, the equivalent of taking almost five million cars off of the road for a year.
At U.S. Embassy Phnom Penh, renewable rooftop solar energy supplies over 10 percent of our power, with more to come, and we have installed a charging station to accommodate our electric vehicle and to transition to additional EVs. Our energy efficiency initiatives and active recycling and composting programs ensure that we do our part to maintain a healthy and vibrant environment in the Kingdom.”
The International Policy Panel followed, featured Australian Ambassador Mr. Pablo Kang, UK Ambassador Mr. Dominic Williams, and H.E. TIN Ponlok, Secretary of State, Ministry of Environment.
“On Climate Change, bold action is needed. It felt bold – and entirely appropriate – to drive our flag car, the fully electric Jaguar I-pace, for the first time from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap to join the Cambodian Climate Change Summit.
The Summit is a great opportunity to bring together government, civil society and the private sector to identify ways of driving forward the green energy transition in Cambodia.” – Dominic Williams, Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Cambodia.
“Australia is committed to working with Cambodia to transition to net-zero, build a resilient, clean energy sector and unlock green trade and investment.” – Ambassador Pablo Kang, Australian Ambassador to Cambodia.
In opening remarks, Mr. Tan noted that, “this year CCCS22 is offsetting the carbon footprint from the conference with a tree planting on Wednesday morning – making this one of the first carbon-neutral conferences in Cambodia, made possible by the support of USAID and their implementing partners.”
Tan said that on the topic of collaboration, he is very pleased to have such a diverse range of participants, including a strong showing from the private sector.
As well as a range of panel discussions and presentations, there was also a 20-booth exhibition showcasing local Sustainable Solutions & Projects in Cambodia, in recognition of the main theme, namely sustainability.
The underlying theme of the summit, namely collaboration between the public sector, private sector and civil society, will see a series of presentations from leading actors on international policy and the development of innovative, cooperative strategies for dealing with climate change.
Organisers, MFI, said that the event is centred around developing strategies with industry and civil society partners to rapidly move towards a carbon-neutral future.
“The Summit will include topics on; Renewable Energy, Green Finance/Climate Finance, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and Environmental Technological Innovations across a wide range of industries such as Agriculture, Transport, Tourism and Commerce with over a dozen sessions.”
“CCCS22 is honored to have the support of the Ministry of Environment as well as Cambodia’s leading experts and practitioners sharing their insights and initiatives around these themes in a variety of formats including presentations, discussions, forums, demonstrations, panel/round table talks.”
The official sponsor and partner of the event is USAID, with further sponsorship support coming from Forte Insurance, Heineken, Oxfam Cambodia & Smart Axiata.
Other contributing partners include the American Embassy, the Australian Embassy, the British Embassy, BritCham, YEAC, and iDE Globe.
The Youth Summit, taking place on Wednesday morning, is organized by a committee of Cambodia’s leading youth advocates, with sessions from Impact Hub, Asian Vision Institute, Khmeng Prey and Cambodia Green Futures.
The majority of the presentations and panel discussions at the event were held in Borei Angkor Hotel.
Source: Cambodia Climate Change Summit 2022 launches in Siem Reap - Khmer Times (khmertimeskh.com)
