Advancing sustainable cooling in Cambodia to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions
Cooling links to numerous national and international sustainable development objectives and targets, including the Sustainable Development Goals and the NDCs under the Paris Agreement. Cooling’s influence on power systems, the energy transition, climate efforts and resilience is large. Yet, cooling does not receive adequate attention within national policy frameworks of either energy or environment. A National Cooling Action Plan Methodology was initiated to support the assessment of national cooling sectors and to help establish comprehensive frameworks for meeting cooling needs in an energy-efficient and climate-friendly manner. The methodology was developed by UN Environment, ESCAP, and the Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE), in collaboration with members of the Cool Coalition. The National Cooling Action Plan for Cambodia was developed, led by the Ministry of Environment of Cambodia, and supported by ESCAP and UNEP, to help put Cambodia on a pathway toward a more sustainable cooling sector. The development of the action plan engages government and non-government actors across sectors and helps link and strengthen the existing policy base related to the cooling. In the case of Cambodia, additional resources were mobilized to support the implementation of passive cooling strategies, feeding into the next round of the NDC updates.
