Preah Sihanouk, 14 December 2015 – A training workshop on tracking of climate finance in the ODA database is organized by the General Secretariat of the National Council for Development sustainable (GSSD) for officials from the Cambodian Rehabilitation and Development Board of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CRDB/CDC) and Ministry of Economy and Finance from 14-15 December 2015. This initiative is part of the cooperation between Department of Climate Change of the GSSD and CRDB/CDC, with financial support from the Cambodia Climate Change Alliance (CCCA).

The Director of the Policy Department of CRDB/CDC, H.E. Chou Heng noted that this training took place at a key moment, following the adoption of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change over the weekend, which includes commitments on climate finance for developing countries. International climate finance will grow in the coming years and will be a key source of financing for Cambodia. He highlighted the need to have reliable data for policy analysis and negotiations with Cambodia’s external partners.

Mr. Julien Chevillard, CCCA Trust Fund Administrator, reminded participants of the key impacts of climate change on economic and social development. He thanked CDC/CRDB and MEF officials for their cooperation with NCSD in order to better track climate finance flows, which will allow for better monitoring of performance, and ultimately better decisions on how to allocate these funds effectively.

The training sessions are focused on 1) Increasing basic knowledge of climate change and its impacts in Cambodia; 2) Understanding international experience in tracking climate finance and reviewing progress made in Cambodia so far, particularly through the ODA database and Climate Public Expenditure Reviews, and 3) Concrete practice through analysis of 2013-14 ODA data and tagging of its climate change relevance.