Agricultural and Rural Development Bank of Cambodia (ARDB). Heng Chivoan
Cambodia is examining the possibility of selecting the Agricultural and Rural Development Bank of Cambodia (ARDB) as a green-financing mechanism, in a bid to attract green investment to the Kingdom.
Details of the plan were disclosed during an online discussion at the weekend concerning the establishment of a green financial institution for Cambodia.
The meeting was attended by 33 leaders and representatives of the General Secretariat of the National Council for Sustainable Development (NCSD), the ministries of Environment and Economy and Finance, the National Bank of Cambodia, ARDB, Mekong Strategic Partners and the South African Development Bank.
At the meeting, the South African Development Bank-operated Green Financing Institution shared its experience and success in obtaining funding from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) for the development of green investment projects in its country, raising funds up to $100 million in 2019.
NCSD General Secretariat chief Vann Monineath said Cambodia’s peaceful environment and political stability give it the opportunity to consider establishing a green financial institution to draw from the GCF for green investment projects in the Kingdom.
“The inter-ministerial working group has repeatedly discussed the selection of the ARDB many a time as a bank to play an appropriate role for Cambodia to implement this type of financing concerning environmental protection, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable development,” he said.
ARDB CEO Kao Thach had said in a separate meeting on June 24 that ARDB has been seeking advice from the Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD), the development arm of the French government, and Mekong Strategic Partners to examine the feasibility and potential mechanisms of green financing under the GCF through AFD, an accredited entity.
GCF says it “operates through a network of over 200 accredited entities and delivery partners who work directly with developing countries for project design and implementation”.
“Climate change is running faster than we are. We need much more ambition and urgency. Finance is key. Developed nations need to meet their pledge to mobilise $100 billion a year for mitigation and adaptation in developing countries. The Green Climate Fund has a significant role to play,” it says.
