សារគន្លឹះ / Key Messages:

  • ព្រៃឈើ ការប្រើប្រាស់ដី ការធ្វើកសិកម្ម និងថាមពលកកើតឡើងវិញ ដើរតួនាទីយ៉ាងសំខាន់ក្នុងការលុបបំបាត់ការបញ្ចេញកាបូនក្នុងសកម្មភាពសេដ្ឋកិច្ច ដើម្បីសម្រេចបាននូវភាពអព្យាក្រឹតភាពក្នុងការបញ្ចេញកាបូននៅក្នុងប្រទេសកម្ពុជានៅឆ្នាំ២០៥០។
  • ដើម្បីសម្រេចបាននូវគោលដៅនេះ ប្រកបដោយបរិយាបន្ន គ្រួសារនៅជនបទ ដែលពឹងផ្អែកលើធនធានធម្មជាតិ សម្រាប់ការផ្គត់ផ្គង់ជីវភាពគ្រួសារ គួរតែត្រូវបានផ្តល់អាទិភាព នៅពេលបង្កើនផ្ទៃដីព្រៃឈើ។
  • គ្រួសារកសិករតូចៗ គួរតែទទួលបានការផ្តល់អាទិភាពនៅពេលធ្វើតុល្យកម្មរវាងនិរន្តរភាពផលិតកម្ម និងកាត់បន្ថយការបំភាយឧស្ម័នពីកសិកម្ម។
  • ថាមពលស្អាត និងកកើតឡើងវិញ គួរតែមានតម្លៃសមរម្យ និងអាចប្រើប្រាស់បានសម្រាប់គ្រួសារនៅជនបទ និងសហគ្រាសធុនតូច និងមធ្យម (SMEs) ជាពិសេស សហគ្រាសដែលដឹកនាំដោយស្ត្រី។
  • ការបណ្ដុះបណ្ដាលជំនាញបៃតង គួរតែត្រូវបានបញ្ជ្រាបនៅក្នុងប្រព័ន្ធអប់រំផ្លូវការ និងក្រៅប្រព័ន្ធ ហើយត្រូវផ្តោតលើអ្នកដែលមានការអប់រំ និងជំនាញមានកម្រិត។
  • Forestry, land use, agriculture and renewable energy play important roles in decarbonizing economic activity to achieve carbon neutrality in Cambodia by 2050.
  • To achieve this target in an inclusive way, rural households who depend on natural resources for their livelihoods should be prioritised when increasing the forest cover.
  • Smallholder farmers should be prioritised when balancing sustainable production and reduction of emissions from agriculture.
  • Clean and renewable energy should be made accessible and affordable for rural households and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially women-led
  • Green skills training should be mainstreamed in both formal and informal education systems, targeting those with limited education and skills.

Cambodia Vision 2050 and the Pentagonal Strategy Phase I set a target for Cambodia to become an upper middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income economy by 2050 (Royal Government of Cambodia [RGC], 2023). The target concerns not only income, but also social inclusiveness and environmental sustainability. To achieve environmental sustainability, the country aims to decarbonise its economic activity by 2050 (Ministry of Environment [MoE], 2021). However, it needs to pay attention to marginalised segments of the population to ensure social inclusiveness in order to do so. This article discusses these implications and suggests ways for ensuring that Cambodia will be socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable while becoming economically prosperous.

The Long-Term Strategy for Carbon Neutrality (LTS4CN) entails how to achieve the target of zero-carbon by 2050 (MoE, 2021). Specifically, this strategy stresses the key role of the forestry and other land use (FOLU) sector in achieving this target. The LTS4CN modelling suggests that Cambodia could be zero-carbon by 2050 if the FOLU sector provided a total carbon sink of 50 megatons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) by that year. For this to happen, the strategy aims to increase the forest cover to 60 percent of total land area by 2030 and maintain it until 2050, and to reduce emissions from agriculture by 30 percent by 2050. Cambodia has great potential to expand the current forest cover, which is over 40 percent (MoE, 2020). As the country expands the size of protected areas to over seven million hectares (Flynn, 2023), it has also made commitments to plant one million trees every year.

The focus on the FOLU sector is crucial since it is the main source of greenhouse gas emissions. For example, the total emissions, chiefly from the FOLU sector, were estimated to be 163,882 Gg of CO2-eq in 2016 (MoE, 2019). This represented a substantial 284 percent increase compared to the emissions recorded in 1994. The primary driver of this rise was deforestation, which is reflected in the large emissions from this sector.

Hence, increasing the forest cover and reducing emissions from agriculture will enhance the capacity to sink and offset carbon from other sectors. But this needs to be realised in an equitable way. Cambodia is still predominantly rural, with 75 percent of the populace living in rural areas and many of whom still depend on natural resources for their livelihoods (National Institute of Statistics, 2022). Rural poverty remains high, at 23 percent in 2020 (World Bank, 2022). Agriculture is still significant for economic growth and poverty reduction, employing 35 percent of the labour force in 2020 (World Bank, 2022). The sector comprises mainly smallholder farmers, doing subsistence farming in traditional ways that are prone to climate change. These farmers cannot afford smart technologies that are environmentally friendly and climate-resilient. Thus, promoting sustainable agriculture that balances production and emission targets is challenging if comprehensive and well-linked policies are not in place. In other words, the move to smart and sustainable agriculture needs to consider smallholders’ conditions and challenges.

To achieve environmental sustainability, another target is to have 100 percent renewable electricity generation by 2050 (MoE, 2021). Cambodia is committed to clean and renewable energy. In 2022, renewable energy comprised 61.06 percent of the domestic power production, and hydropower comprised 53.89 percent of renewable energy (Electricity Authority of Cambodia [EAC], 2023). The government has stopped granting new approvals for coal power plants and hydropower dams on the Mekong River. Along with efforts to reduce fossil fuels, relevant policies emphasise the transition to clean and renewable energy in economic activity and household consumption. However, the inclusive execution of these policies needs more consideration, taking into account poor households’ livelihoods. While access to the national power grid is high at 98.27 percent of villages using it in 2022 (EAC, 2023), most rural households rely on fossil fuels like charcoal and wood for cooking and other consumption. In 2019, wood and charcoal made up more than 90 percent of the total household energy used in rural areas (World Bank, 2019a). Thus, policies need to make clean and renewable sources of energy attractive, accessible and affordable for rural households to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels.

The transition to clean and renewable energy also needs to go along with the interests of small businesses. This is paramount since SMEs (over 60 percent of which are run by women) dominate the private sector and provide a significant source of employment in the informal economy (World Bank, 2019b). While the green industry in Cambodia is growing, SMEs still struggle to go green in their business (UNDP, 2019). SMEs have limited access to clean and renewable energy for their production due to financial and regulatory barriers (Sean and Ngin, 2023). Hence, the transition needs to maintain and enhance SMEs’ productivity and competitiveness if they are to go green.

Also concerning the transition to green energy is the potential to create green jobs, which is emphasised along with the anticipated benefits of green growth. It is estimated that the investments to be made under the LTS4CN have the potential to create 449,000 green jobs and contribute 2.8 percent to the annual GDP by 2050 (MoE, 2021). However, relevant policies do not address how to prepare workers, especially women, who will lose their jobs to reskill or upskill to take up green jobs. Green skills are quite challenging to achieve, especially for marginalised groups with limited education and skills. Nine in ten Cambodian workers work in elementary or low-skilled jobs (NIS,2021). Only 60 percent of students complete lower secondary schools (ibid). Thus, the potential of green jobs would be realised if it were well-linked to the overall human capital strategy and target the underperformed. Currently, green skills are just an add-on in the education and training curricula. Provision of green skills training is mainly project-based.

In conclusion, policies and strategies for carbon neutrality lack details of how to achieve equity in environmental sustainability. Here are some suggestions for an inclusive decarbonisation pathway:

  • Prioritise rural households who depend on natural resources for their livelihoods when increasing the forest cover.
  • Balance sustainable production and reduction of emissions from agriculture, prioritising smallholder farming.
  • Make clean and renewable energy accessible and affordable for rural households and SMEs, especially women-led

Embed green skills training in both formal and informal education systems and target those with limited education and skills.

References

  • Electricity Authority of Cambodia (EAC). 2023. Salient Features of Power Development in the Kingdom of Cambodia until December 2022. Phnom Penh: EAC.
  • Flynn, Gerald. 2023. Skepticism as Cambodia expands protected areas by more than a million hectares (29 August). Available at: https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/skepticism-as-cambodia-expands-protected-areas-by-more-than-a-million-hectares/
  • Ministry of Environment (MoE). 2019. National GHG Emissions Inventory Report. Phnom Penh: MoE.
  • Ministry of Environment (MoE). 2020. Cambodia Forest Cover 2018. Phnom Penh: MoE.
  • Ministry of Environment (MoE). 2021. Cambodia: Long-Term Strategy for Carbon Neutrality (LTS4CN). Phnom Penh: MoE.
  • National Institute of Statistics (NIS). 2021. Report of Cambodia Socio-Economic Survey 2019/2020. Phnom Penh: NIS.
  • National Institute of Statistics (NIS). 2022. Report of Cambodia Socio-Economic Survey 2021. Phnom Penh: NIS.
  • Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC). 2023. Pentagonal Strategy Phase I. Phnom Penh: RGC.
  • Sean, Chanmony and Ngin, Chanrith. 2023. Summary Report on Green SMEs in Cambodia. Phnom Penh: Cambodia Development Resource Institute.
  • United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 2019. Cambodia: Derisking Renewable Energy Investment. New York: UNDP.
  • World Bank. 2019a. Improved energy technologies for rural Cambodia. Phnom Penh: World Bank.
  • World Bank. 2019b. Exploring the Opportunities for Women-owned SMEs in Cambodia. Phnom Penh: World Bank.
  • World Bank. 2022. Cambodia Poverty Assessment 2022: Toward a More Inclusive and Resilient Cambodia. Phnom Penh: World Bank.