AKP Phnom Penh, December 02, 2025 -- Canada has pledged to deepen and broaden its cooperation with Cambodia on the development of clean energy and climate change mitigation, as announced by Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment following high-level talks on Monday.

The commitment emerged from a meeting between Cambodia’s Minister of Environment, H.E. Dr. Eang Sophalleth, and H.E. Christian DesRoches, Canada’s Ambassador to Cambodia.

Minister Sophalleth detailed the ministry’s current action plans, which are aligned with Cambodia’s national circular economy strategy. A key focus is a sweeping public campaign that has engaged over 14 million Cambodians in a pledge to reduce plastic bag use—an initiative credited with visibly cleaner communities nationwide.

Further efforts include a “clean habits” programme in schools, featuring waste bin distribution and education on sorting recyclables. Concurrently, the Royal Government is advancing plans to construct environmentally compliant sanitary landfills and related infrastructure. This dual approach aims to protect natural ecosystems while capturing economic value from waste and plastic materials.

Ambassador DesRoches commended the scale of public mobilisation in Cambodia’s anti-plastic drive, highlighting its significance in the global fight against pollution and climate change. He confirmed Canada’s intent to expand bilateral environmental cooperation, with special interest in clean energy technology, waste recycling, and resource recovery systems.

The ambassador added that Canada is actively exploring new avenues for development support, with a strategic focus on bolstering Cambodia’s resilience and adaptive capacity to climate change.

By K. Rithy Reak