The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) 54th annual meeting scheduled for May will focus on pursuing a sustainable and environmentally friendly recovery from COVID-19 in the region.
The conference will be hosted virtually from May 3 to 5 and feature government, industry and academic leaders for three days of workshops centred on green recovery, according to the ADB.
ADB Secretary Muhammed Ehsan Khan said: “As the focus shifts to the complex task of shaping the region’s recovery, the annual meeting provides an excellent opportunity to develop approaches to balancing response efforts, including vaccine access and support for a green, resilient and inclusive recovery.”
Work is already under way in Cambodia to promote green infrastructure and a sustainable economy, but fossil fuels remain a large part of the country’s energy mixture.
According to a report issued by the Electric Authority Cambodia and the Ministry of Mines and Energy, 54.76 percent of electricity from the grid was generated by coal or oil in 2020, 41.03 percent was produced by hydropower, while 3.01 percent was produced by solar energy.
The report also laid out the government’s energy plans for 2021. The output from non-renewable energy sources is expected to climb to 55.09 percent, while renewable energy output is expected to be 44.91 percent.
However, the installed capacity of renewable energy is planned to climb to 1,737.07 megawatts (mW), while non-renewable capacity is expected to remain the same.
UN Development Programme (UNDP) Representative to Cambodia Nick Beresford said the UNDP has been in talks with the government to create policies that would promote green, energy-efficient buildings.
Beresford said 80 percent of Cambodia’s energy consumption is accounted for by commercial and residential buildings and that, if building efficiency standards can be implemented, energy consumption could be cut by 25 percent by 2030.
Yim Sophy, of the secretariat of the General Department of Energy at the Ministry of Mines and Energy, said the ministry is also cooperating with the ADB to create energy-efficient policies.
A switch to green infrastructure could also be a boon for jobs and help connect communities without electricity to the grid.
According to an article published in the peer-reviewed journal Economic Modelling, $1 million in spending in renewable energy creates 7.49 full-time or equivalent jobs while fossil fuel industries provide 2.65 full-time or equivalent jobs per $1 million in spending.
Beresford said: “When you invest your money into renewable energy, the economic multipliers are far higher.”
He added that the UNDP has been working with Okra Solar to create mini-grids utilising solar power to provide electricity to some of the 210 remote villages in the country that are difficult to reach.
Sophy said that there are currently 370 villages in Cambodia without electricity (including the 210 hard-to-reach villages).
Bridget McIntosh, the country representative for Energy Lab Asia in Cambodia, promotes green businesses by advising startups and pairing students with solar companies for internships.
In one recent success story, a startup created a solar-powered cricket incubator that farmers can use to raise crickets at no energy cost and sell for extra income.
“If we want a green-led economy, supporting locally produced green electricity projects should be a number one priority,” McIntosh said.
She said Cambodia is at an important juncture regarding its energy production and use and compared with other countries that have historically depended on coal power, Cambodia has a good chance to go green without disrupting an entire industry.
McIntosh used her native Australia as an example, where she said 80 percent of power is produced by coal. For a green shift to occur there, a massive workforce of miners would need to be re-trained, she added.
In Cambodia, labour jobs would be created to build green infrastructure and more specialised roles would open up for engineers and electricians, she said.
Sophy said the ministry is striving to supply stable electricity at a reasonable price to the population to improve their livelihoods and promote social economic growth, before adding that clean energy also remains a priority for the country.
The secretariat added the government has implemented projects to provide power to the poor by using home solar systems and subsidising some electricity costs.
The ministry hopes to provide electricity to 90 percent of the 370 villages without power, Sophy said.
The country currently has several power projects in play, including wind farms and coal plants.
