PHNOM PENH, 23 March 2015: The Ministry of Environment (MoE) and Council for the Development of Cambodia/Cambodian Rehabilitation and Development Board (CDC/CRDB) discussed cooperation to improve Cambodia’s Tracking and Mobilization of the International Climate Finance.

A Consultative Seminar on Improving Cambodia’s Tracking and Mobilization of International Climate Finance was co-chaired by H.E. Chou Heng, Advisor to RGC and Director of Department of Policy, CDC/CRDB, and Mr. Sum Thy, Director of the Climate Change Department of Ministry of Environment (CCD), with participation from concerned senior officials from both institutions.

“It is an important stage for Cambodia to have adequate systems to attract international climate finance in a competitive environment globally while the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has committed to mobilize climate change finance from developed countries around USD 100 billion per year by 2020,” remarked by Mr. Sum Thy, Climate Change Department Director.

In addition, H.E. Chou Heng, emphasized that Climate Change finance would be an important component of Cambodia’s external resource mobilization in the medium term and that cooperation between Ministry of Environment and the Council for the Development of Cambodia would be essential.

To gain deeper understanding on current Cambodia’s climate financing, key technical staff of CCD and CDC/CRDB delivered presentations on 1) Background of climate change finance globally and in Cambodia; 2) Existing climate change finance tracking system in the Official Development Aid (ODA) database; 3) Methodology Used in Cambodia Climate Public Expenditure and Institutional Review (CPEIR) and Climate Change Financing Framework (CCFF); and 4) Lessons learnt from the Technical Working Group experience on potential coordination mechanisms for climate change.

Key outcomes produced from the seminar include agreement to adjust the ODA database to improve tracking of climate change finance, and cooperation to improve the identification of climate-relevant projects from donors in order to ensure appropriate design and mobilization of climate finance.