Cambodia’s manufacturing and tourism sectors will face adverse effects from climate change due to the country’s focus on hydropower, according to a report produced jointly by British and Cambodian think tanks.
Speaking Wednesday in Phnom Penh, researchers from U.K.-based Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and the Cambodia Development Research Institute said that high energy prices already negatively affect Cambodia’s manufacturing and tourism and prices are not likely to drop as the country increases its reliance on hydropower, which will eventually be affected by climate change.
“There is not much in the [government’s energy plan] that acknowledges climate change…. Water scarcity is not dealt with in great depth,” said Alberto Lemma, an ODI researcher, adding that Cambodia needs to diversify its energy resources beyond hydropower.
