Press release

Cambodia opens First National Forum on Climate Change

PHNOM PENH, 19 October 2009: At the heart of the First National Forum on Climate Change, which opened today, there was a simple, but direct message: The threat of climate change is real, and stands to have a devastating impact on Cambodia’s socio-economic development if a concerted effort is not made by all key stakeholders to act now to minimize impact on vulnerable communities and introduce more environment-friendly policies and practices.

The Forum is the first of its kind in Cambodia and aims to raise awareness among government, development partners and civil society that climate change is not just an environmental, but also a development issue, with far-reaching consequences for Cambodia’s progress toward achieving Millennium Development Goals. Over the next two and a half days, local and regional experts, senior government officials, civil society organization representatives and development partners will discuss key issues such as mitigation and adaptation, looking at best practices in other countries, and exploring how best to introduce similar measures into Cambodia.

Samdech Aka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, expressed his support to the Forum with a keynote speech at Chaktomuk Theatre today.
“The First National Forum on Climate Change is a new turning point in the evolution of Cambodian society. This forum is truly significant and responds timely to our needs by sharing information and experiences so we can learn positive lessons from countries in the region,” Prime Minister Hun Sen said.

“It raises a number of key issues relating to the measures needed to respond to climate change, including: mainstreaming climate change into the process of formulating policies and national planning; future international agreements for addressing climate change; issues of finance for developing countries; the transfer of technology; emergency funds for countries most vulnerable to climate change, especially for adaptation measures; and building capacities and expertise and institutions in those countries,” he said.

H.E. Dr. Mok Mareth, Senior Minister, Minister of Environment and Chairperson of the National Climate Change Committee said at the opening session that Cambodia’s limited adaptive capacity made it particularly vulnerable to impacts of climate change.

“As a least developed country Cambodia is very vulnerable to climate change as 80 percent of our people are living in the countryside and directly depending on agriculture and on extraction of natural resources for a living. At the same time our ability to respond to climate change remains limited in terms of finance, expertise, technology and infrastructure,” he said.

To reduce the threat, Cambodians, from top government officials to local farmers, need to be better informed about the consequences of inaction. There must also be robust planning, policies, institutional frameworks and infrastructure in place for vulnerable communities to cope with the possible negative impacts in the near and long term.

The Royal Government of Cambodia has already underlined its commitment to addressing climate change issues in its Rectangular Strategy, Phase II. It ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) in December 1995 and acceded to the Kyoto protocol in July 2002. Since then it has worked to meet its commitments under these treaties, including developing a National Communications under the UNFCCC Convention, developing and implementing a National Adaptation Programme of Action to Climate Change, and implementing of the Clean Development Mechanism.

In December, four Cambodian negotiators from the Ministry of Environment will travel to Copenhagen to take part in the global Conference of Parties, where a collective commitment to tackling climate change will be forged. But still more needs to be done, and the cooperation of all stakeholders is crucial.

The forum will move to the Intercontinental Hotel on the second and third days. Discussions will focus on climate change science, impacts and opportunities with an objective to raise awareness and understanding among participants on key issues related to climate change adaptation and mitigation. On the third day, 21 October, specific working groups will discuss issues such as aid effectiveness, biodiversity, communications, education and advocacy, gender and climate change, low-carbon society and the road toward CoP 15, the Conference of the Parties under UNFCC in Copenhagen in December.

The National Climate Change Committee has organized the Forum with support from Danida, Sida, Oxfam and UNDP.

For more information, please contact Mr. Ouk Navann, Climate Change Office at the Ministry of Environment at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ,  Aimee Brown at UNDP on 012 760 514 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or Munthit Ker on 011905 261 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it