LocationsHow Cambodia is scaling sub-national climate action
Changing the climate finance conversation
April 28, 2025
Stakeholders collaborate during the Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue on “Integrating Climate Actions into District and Municipality Plans and Budgets,” held on December 13, 2024, in Phnom Penh.
In Cambodia, discussions on climate finance have traditionally occurred within national ministries and international development circles. However, the direct impacts of climate change—from severe seasonal flooding to prolonged droughts—are felt most acutely at the district and municipality levels. Despite being on the frontlines, these local administrations have often lacked both the technical capacity and the budgetary influence to ensure that climate adaptation is prioritized in their local development plans.
To address this disconnect, the Climate Finance Network (CFN), with support from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) CARA Programme and Sweden Sida, provided a strategic grant to the Coalition for Partnership in Democratic Development (CPDD). Working alongside partners like STAR Kampuchea, Action for Development (AFD), and the National School of Local Administration (NASLA), this initiative aims to move climate finance from high-level policy into the hands of local leaders and the public.
On August 14, 2024, local leaders, NGOs, and private sector representatives gathered in Pursat Province to map climate challenges and launch a new Climate Change Task Force. The workshop brought together 46 participants, including 8 women, to strengthen collaboration on local climate action.
Empowering Local Governance: The Climate Change Task Forces
The core of the CFN intervention focuses on institutionalizing climate action at the sub-national level. By establishing Climate Change Finance Taskforces (CCFTs) in provinces like Pursat, the project has created a formal space where local officials, civil society, and the private sector collaborate on budgetary decisions.
This shift is already leading to practical changes in local governance. For the first time, district and municipality administrations are not just recipients of national funds but are actively participating in shaping climate budget proposals.
“Climate action must be built into national and sub-national planning,” says H.E. Kong Chanthorn, Vice President of NASLA. “To strengthen resilience, we need stronger collaboration between ministries, sub-national administrations, and the private sector.”
Public Advocacy and Accountability
A unique element of the Cambodia project is its focus on public engagement. To ensure that climate finance is seen as a matter of public interest, the CPDD launched a national media campaign, including radio talk shows and social media petitions that reached tens of thousands of citizens. This effort has transformed climate finance from a technical jargon into a topic of everyday conversation, allowing citizens to hold their local leaders accountable for how climate funds are spent.
At the field level, the project is also linking local action to broader financial mechanisms. For instance, the partnership is working with farmers on Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) techniques in rice farming. This not only reduces water use but also explores the potential for generating carbon credits, creating a long-term, sustainable financing stream for rural communities.
Students explore climate change solutions at a local school exhibition—part of ongoing efforts to raise awareness among youth and communities.
Government convergence and accountability
The project works in close alignment with Cambodia's ongoing decentralization efforts. While national budget allocations to local administrations have grown, the focus of the CFN support is on strengthening the climate content of these budget proposals to ensure they address actual environmental risks.
Mr. Thorn Chanrith, Deputy Director at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, highlighted the importance of this technical support: “We’ve increased sub-national budgets, but continued training and technical support are essential for SNAs to manage climate risks effectively.”
Looking ahead: Scaling the model
The work done so far has created new opportunities for local governments to take part in climate finance planning, but scaling this progress remains the priority. To ensure the work lasts, NASLA is developing a climate finance manual for district and municipality administrations, which will be integrated into official government training programs.
Moving forward, the CFN and its partners are focused on:
Institutionalizing the CCFTs as a permanent part of local planning;
Tracking local budgets to ensure climate goals are actually met;
Expanding advocacy and public awareness to more provinces;
Building private sector partnerships to support local climate projects.
By keeping pressure on decision-makers and raising public awareness, the goal is to make climate-smart budgeting a long-term, well-supported feature of Cambodia’s planning system. As the ground holds firm in Pursat and beyond, it proves that the most durable climate solutions are those where the community is the lead architect of its own future.
This story is part of a series of initiatives supported by the UNDP Climate Finance Network (CFN), a flagship programme supporting Asia-Pacific countries to bridge the gap between climate goals and the investment needed to reach them. As a regional platform, CFN provides technical and policy support to integrate climate into public finance, mobilize private and innovative capital, and create the enabling environment required for lasting impact. Supported by the UK’s FCDO flagship CARA programme and Sweden (Sida), CFN ensures climate action is transparent, coordinated, and fully funded.