PAGE conducted a mission in Cambodia from 17 to 21 October to set the foundations for a strong partnership. The PAGE team including all five partner agencies met with representatives from the Government, the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office, development and funding partners, as well as private sector associations to discuss challenges and opportunities for a green economic transformation and secure national engagement and ownership.
Participants also discussed the project scope and objectives, governance arrangements, and linkages with existing initiatives. The Minister of Environment Say Samal highlighted the need for policy implementation and emphasized that green finance could be a “game changer” for Cambodia in a debrief meeting with PAGE team at the end of the mission.
Cambodia already has several important strategies and policies in place to support a green economy, including one of the World’s first National Strategic Plans on Green Growth adopted in 2013.
To identify critical policy areas for a green economic transformation, PAGE will conduct a scoping study in partnership with a national research institute over the period December 2022 to March 2023. The scoping study will cover high impact sectors that have been identified as a priority in the Government’s Economic Recovery Plan, including garment, tourism, and agriculture. It will also take into account the initial priorities identified in Cambodia’s application to PAGE, including: green investment and finance; green technology, jobs and resource efficiency; and green industry and SME development.
Through the PAGE project the Royal Government of Cambodia aims to capitalize on its impressive growth rate over the past two decades, putting it on a sustainable footing through economic, social and environmental “win-win” opportunities.
Cambodia is the newest among the 22 PAGE partner countries, having officially joined the partnership in June 2022. UNITAR acts as the main coordinating agency for the PAGE project in Cambodia. The main Government counterpart is the Department for Green Economy at the Ministry of Environment, in its capacity as the General Secretariat of the National Council for Sustainable Development.
