Cambodia cancels $1.5 billion coal project
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Cambodia will withdraw plans for a $1.5 billion coal project as disaster local weather negotiations get underway in Dubai, the nation’s vitality minister informed AFP on Wednesday.
Keo Rotanak stated Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet would announce the cancellation on Thursday.
Phnom Penh will as a substitute think about constructing a terminal to import liquefied pure fuel (LNG).
“Cambodia is committed to doing everything we can to achieve net zero by 2050,” Rotanak stated in a textual content message.
“Before that, our first step will be to implement an energy efficiency and electrification program as part of our integrated strategy to achieve at least 70 percent renewable energy by 2030.”
The 700-megawatt Botham Sakor energy plant was deliberate on land inside a protected space alongside the southwestern coast of Koh Kong province.
The cancellation is predicted to be introduced by the prime minister on the groundbreaking ceremony for a hydroelectric dam within the area, and is geared toward sending a message to nations throughout COP28 discussions, Rotanak stated.
Nick Marx, from Cambodia’s forest and wildlife conservation NGO Wildlife Alliance, welcomed the “excellent” information and stated the choice ought to be adopted by others.
“Every country needs to play its part to avoid the disasters that lie ahead,” he informed AFP.
Cambodia had beforehand pledged to not develop new coal-fired energy crops, however stated it remained dedicated to current plans, together with the Botum Sakor facility and one other within the nation’s north.
The two Botham Sakor energy crops had been scheduled to return on-line round 2025, in keeping with Global Energy Monitor’s coal-fired energy plant tracker.
In December 2021, the nation introduced a roadmap to attain net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
This consists of pledges to spice up renewable vitality, which already accounts for a lot of electrical energy era because of hydropower, and to spice up funding in LNG imports, storage and infrastructure.
According to the nation’s electrical energy authority, 35.5% of Cambodia’s electrical energy in 2022 was generated by coal, whereas hydropower accounted for almost 54%.
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Source: guardian.ng