UN,Cambodia jointly hold workshop on Sustainable Energy for All

The United Nations Development Program and Cambodian Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy on Thursday jointly held a workshop on Sustainable Energy for All ( SE4All) in order to discuss the future of sustainable energy in Cambodia.
The workshop, opened by Suy Sem, Minister of Industry, Mines and Energy, and UN Resident Coordinator Douglas Broderick, was attended by 80 people from various ministries, development partners, non-governmental organizations and civil society.
Speaking at the event, Suy Sem said that energy sector was very vital to contribute to social and economic development.
He added that the government has set a specific goal to provide all villages with electricity of any type by the year 2020 and at least 70 percent of households will be able to access to grid quality electricity by 2030.
"To achieve this target, we need to increase investment in energy sector and promote the efficiency of energy," he said.
He said that currently, Cambodia has consumed the electricity of about 635 megawatts including 400 megawatts in Phnom Penh.
The main sources of the electricity are from diesel-fueled generators, hydropower dams and coal plants besides purchasing from its neighboring Vietnam, Laos and Thailand.
Douglas Broderick said the UN General Assembly declared 2012 the International Year of SE4All. As of Sept. 2012, 63 countries including Cambodia have joined the SE4All initiative.
He said that progress in energy access was very important to contribute to reducing poverty and achieving sustainable development.