Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 15 November 2023— H.E. Dr. Eang Sophalleth, Minister of the Ministry of Environment of Cambodia pledged the country’s commitments to ‘Blue Skies & Net Zero 2050 Campaign, making Cambodia as the first country in Southeast Asia to endorse GGGI’s global initiative. The campaign aims to raise awareness about Cambodia’s climate actions and to build more support to achieve its net zero emission goal by 2050.
Over 500 participants were present during the event being led by the Ministry of Environment and GGGI with support from Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and Oxfam. Distinguished guests included the esteemed Ambassador of Australia to Cambodia and the Ambassador of Germany to Cambodia. Representatives of various embassies, along with government counterparts, development partners, private sector and university students.
The event began with the opening session, followed by a panel discussion and youth debate. Also, the launch of the lue Skies & Net Zero 2050 Campaign was done together with the launch of the Circular Strategy on Environment 2023-2028 by Ministry of Environment.
H.E. Dr. Eang Sophalleth, in his opening remarks, expressed his enthusiasm towards the initiative by saying, “This creates an excellent platform to engage all stakeholders, including the youth, in raising awareness on climate change and building resilience. I am committed to promoting green, and sustainable initiatives for the development of Cambodia and this campaign is in line with our vision.”
Ms. Shomi Kim, GGGI Country Representative in Cambodia, said, “We are pleased to witness the enthusiasm among government stakeholders, development partners, private sector and the youth, all coming together in one place to collectively discuss and debate on the progress and reflection of Cambodia’s journey toward achieving net zero emissions by 2050.”
A range of essential topics were discussed during the presentation of the high-level panel session and youth debate. These included the urgent need to highlight the necessary transformation of Cambodia’s transportation and industry sectors to mitigate their negative impacts on air quality, and the need for green finance in the country. This campaign aims to raise awareness about climate actions that aligns with the Royal Government of Cambodia’s priorities set in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and Long-Term Strategy for Carbon Neutrality (LTS4CN) as well as other national policies and targets.
In addition to the onsite event, the first event also ran a social media campaign that lasted three weeks. It included a promotion of key messages related to the campaign and impacts of climate change, and a fun social media quiz. Overall, over 60 people participated in the social media quiz while the campaign reached between 8,000 people to 12,000 people (organic).
The next event of the Blue Skies and Net Zero 2050 Campaign is scheduled for 2024.
link to our press release: https://gggi.org/cambodias-support-to-the-blue-skies-net-zero-2050-campaign/