Britain’s foreign minister Dominic Raab (left) meets Cambodian environment minister Say Samal on Wednesday. ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY
Cambodia on June 23 asked the UK to buy carbon credits to serve forest and wildlife conservation and local economic development by providing new options, employment and income for rural people.
The request was made during a meeting between Minister of Environment Say Samal and Britain’s foreign minister Dominic Raab on the morning of June 23 at the environment ministry.
At the meeting, Samal highlighted the cooperation between the two countries as friends and partners, raising a number of topics related to the environment, according to environment ministry secretary of state Neth Pheaktra.
These included the climate change fight and Cambodia’s participation in the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) – to be hosted by the UK, as well as mutual cooperation on natural resources and biodiversity conservation, enforcement against cross-border wildlife trafficking and renewable energy use, Pheaktra said.
Samal stressed the close relations between the two countries, 30 years on since the UK reopened its embassy in Cambodia in 1991.
“The UK can help Cambodia in the field of the environment, by training human resources in environmental and natural resources management, increasing trade partnerships and purchasing products from Cambodia,” he was quoted as saying.
Raab emphasised the strong bilateral cooperation, friendship and partnership, and praised the development process that Cambodia has achieved, while touching on what the UK can do to help make the Kingdom more prosperous moving forward, according to Pheaktra.
He said he would send a team of professional missions to Cambodia to study the Kingdom’s needs, to improve the environment and natural resources, and help the environment ministry with environment and natural resources management.
Since 2016, Cambodia has earned about $11.6 million from the sale of carbon credits to major foreign companies such as Disney, Kering, Intuit, Shell and Gucci, according to Pheaktra. He said the Kingdom was also studying and carrying out a carbon credit project in the Prey Lang area with Japan’s Mitsui.
