Growth of Coal Power Plants Discouraging FDI over Environmental Concerns

• 15 August 2020
• Local News
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Some major brands including H&M, Adidas, Puma, Gap, and others have expressed concern and reluctance to continue investing in Cambodia due to the growth of coal power plants, which is not green energy, according to the Nikkei Review Asia on 12 August.

These firms have sent a letter of concern to the Cambodian government stating that the policy of increasing coal power plants rather than renewable energy, such as solar and wind, is contrary to their policy of reducing carbon emission. Cambodia’s policy also seems to oppose global trends, which makes the kingdom less attractive for future investment.

Cambodia currently has at least four coal plants that are scheduled to go online in 2024. 50% of the total energy used in Cambodia comes from hydropower that is also currently damaging the environment, and only 2% is green energy from solar.

In response, Ministry of Mines and Energy’s spokesman H.E Victor Jona said Cambodia needs to balance between environmental impact and energy security.

“We must not look at only one side, if we do not produce energy and only buy them from others, or if we just produce only clean energy, do we have security and stability?” H.E Jona asked.

“For example, they want renewable energy, such as solar energy. But solar can provide energy only when there is sunlight, so where is the stability here? Therefore, we need to diversify all energy sources as much as possible,” he added.

Mr Jona also added that even though energy security is important, Cambodia also takes environmental issues into account.

“The implementation of each project in Cambodia has to go through the Ministry of Environment. If the Ministry of Environment approves, it means the impact must be very low or the standard is acceptable,” said Mr Jona.

“During the rainy season, Cambodia extracts up to 80% in energy from hydropower and solar power while coal power at the moment accounts for only 12%,” he added.

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