The Ministry of Public Works and Transport has held a series of discussions with electricity providers and sustainability organisations to support the development of policies that will encourage mass use of electric vehicles (EV) in Cambodia. An inter-ministerial workshop was organised by the ministry on March 11 in collaboration with EnergyLab to investigate policies that could be adopted in the Kingdom to promote the use of EVs, attended by representatives of the General Department of Customs and Excise of Cambodia, state-run energy supplier Electricite du Cambodge (EdC), the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) and the Cambodia Climate Change Alliance. Subsequently, the transport ministry will be making a number of presentations “focusing on strategic planning and measures to promote the use of EVs in Cambodia as much as possible, to help reduce pollution and the emission of greenhouse gases”, according to ministry spokesman Vasim Sorya. Cambodia has committed to boosting the use of electric cars and buses by 40 per cent, and motorcycles by 70 per cent, by 2050, in accordance with the government’s long-term carbon-neutral development strategy, according to Sorya. He told The Post that the ministry has been “hard at work” taking actions to engage various stakeholders on potentially increasing the use of EVs in the Kingdom, key of which includes organising workshops and cooperating with development partners to increase interest. Sorya highlighted the ministry’s outreach to the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and “various other partners” to fund the introduction of more car charging stations in the capital Phnom Penh and the provinces. The ministry has also collaborated with EdC to prepare to meet potentially increased demand for electricity at various stations. The ministry also asked private companies to consider importing EVs for domestic use “through facilitation from customs and the Ministry of Economy and Finance”, he said. It has already built 10 stations in “target provinces” in a trial to encourage increased use of EVs, Sorya said, adding that “several gas stations have also volunteered to build charging stations”. “The EV is also being used by other countries [on a large scale] because of the alarming depletion of natural resources worldwide, especially oil, so we need to find other energy alternatives we have, and electricity is one such source.” Royal Academy of Cambodia economics researcher Ky Sereyvath told The Post that the transport ministry’s efforts reflect its focus on the “key factors” of sustainable green livelihoods and minimising the use of limited natural resources by introducing supply caps. He noted that these initiatives will decrease Cambodia’s dependence on natural resources and lead to cost savings that could be parlayed into investment in other commodities to stimulate the Kingdom’s economic growth.