Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 30 July 2021 – The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the newly established Cambodian Green Building Council (CamGBC) spelling out plans for cooperation between the two organizations to promote green building.

A ‘green building’ is defined by CamGBC as a building that is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout the building’s life span.

Due to a large-scale and unregulated construction boom, the building sector has become the largest final energy consumer in Cambodia, accounting for 52% of the total consumption in 2017. In the same year, residential and commercial buildings consumed 77% of the total final electricity (IEA, 2020). National forecasts anticipate that building energy consumption will more than double by 2040. Cooling of buildings also presents a significant challenge; as air temperatures become more extreme, access to cooling, such as energy-intensive air conditioning, will be required to maintain living conditions.

Construction in Phnom Penh.

The Royal Government of Cambodia has begun to develop multiple long-term initiatives to create a more sustainable building sector in Cambodia, including the building code under development by the Ministry of Urban Planning, Land Management and Construction (MUPLMC) and the green building guidelines and national cooling action plan under development by the Ministry of Environment (MoE). Cambodia’s updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), submitted in December 2020, also outlines enhanced ambitions for the sector, including actions relating to building energy efficiency and cooling.

The Cambodian Green Building Council is a recently established private sector initiative, with a vision is to make green buildings and communities available to all Cambodians. The Council aims to engage with policymakers, professionals, and the society at large, to transform the building industry into one that respects the environment. Under the new cooperation agreement, GGGI will support the operationalization of the Green Building Council. The two organizations will work together to launch Cambodia-specific green building rating and financing schemes.