CEW25 WRAP UP - ENERGYLAB ASIA

A warm thank you to the hundreds of participants, guests of honor, speakers, and distinguished participants who joined us for Clean Energy Week 2025 (CEW 2025). Your active engagement, passion and thoughtful contributions made CEW 2025 a resounding success.

This year’s CEW featured 15 sessions and brought together 20 development partners, three embassies and eight ministries from the Royal Government of Cambodia.

Centered around the theme “Unlocking a Clean Energy Economy,” the Week focused on the central and vital role that clean energy plays in strengthening Cambodia’s economy and driving sustainable economic growth.

The energy and enthusiasm throughout the week was truly inspiring - with voices from the private sector, community groups and government all being given a chance to be heard. It was remarkable to see so many passionate partners and stakeholders come together to advance Cambodia’s clean energy transition.

EnergyLab Asia's Clean Energy Week 2025 kicked off with a bold declaration of Cambodia’s transformation from an energy constrained economy to a clean energy leader. EnergyLab Asia Country Director Natharoun Ngo Son outlined three pillars for success: electricity system transition, leveraging clean energy for industrial growth, and developing manufacturing capacity. UNDP's Enrique Gaveglia warned of a 2.5% GDP cut by 2030 without urgent action, while Australian Ambassador Derek Yip pledged long-term partnership and support for green financing. Minister Hem Vanndy stressed that the transition represents a strategic opportunity to futureproof Cambodia's economy and ensure "made in Cambodia" products remain globally competitive, emphasizing the need to invest not just in technology, but in building a skilled, future-ready workforce.

The Harnessing Energy Efficiency side session brought together over 100 participants to explore Cambodia's strategy for achieving 19% energy reduction by 2030 through its National Energy Efficiency Policy. Expert presentations from ITC, GGGI Cambodia, and UNIDO, followed by a panel discussion with CAPRED and GERES representatives, emphasized balancing energy efficiency with economic profitability. Key insights included the potential of the Energy Service Company (ESCO) model, certified training programs for energy professionals, Eco-Industrial Park concepts, and converting agricultural waste into useful products. The session concluded with the official launch of EnergyLab Asia's Clean Energy Progress Report 2024, mapping Cambodia's evolving energy landscape across three sections: tracking the clean energy journey, balancing promises and complexities, and unlocking energy efficiency opportunities.

CEW25 Culture Day celebrated Cambodia's clean energy transition through art and storytelling. The highlight was the Clean Energy Documentaries Screening, which brought together communities to witness Cambodia's evolving energy landscape through the eyes of talented DMC students. We screened four powerful short documentaries: "Absorb the Light, Arise the Growth," "Eco-faith," "Floating Village," and "Powering the Hope," which celebrate the progress toward a cleaner Cambodia while highlighting the perspectives of women, youth, and vulnerable communities. These documentaries captured both the exciting progress in clean energy adoption transforming daily life across Cambodia and the challenges that communities still face. A huge shoutout to the students from the DMC - Department of Media and Communication for their creativity and unwavering efforts in sparking meaningful conversations about clean energy transition through their lens.

The day also featured the Solarpunk Art Exhibition showcasing original artworks created during a weeklong residency at Sambor Village in Kampong Thom. Guests explored thought-provoking pieces that blend local culture with speculative futures, reimagining a sustainable, hopeful future for Cambodia and Southeast Asia. Huge thanks to our collaborators Miguel Jeronimo, MicroGalleries, Seapunk Studios, and Sambor Village.

During CEW 2025, EnergyLab Asia marked a major milestone by celebrating the completion of the Clean Energy Fellowship 2025 (CEF 2025) program with the graduation of the 2025 Clean Energy Fellows.

The six-month Clean Energy Fellowship develops emerging leaders driving Cambodia’s clean energy transition. This year adds 21 Fellows—bringing the network to 92 members, including 50 women—from sectors such as agriculture, environment, governance, law, and logistics.

Celebrating their graduation, this session also marked the official launch of ‘Generation Power: The Future of Clean Energy Issue 2’. The publication features thought-provoking articles on clean energy challenges and solutions, researched and written by our 2025 Clean Energy Fellows. Each piece blends data, evidence, and personal insights to highlight Cambodia’s key clean energy priorities.

This collection covers a wide range of topics, drawing upon some interesting regional and global examples to demonstrate to readers that many of the ideas included are already practical, actionable and possible; it just remains for Cambodia to adopt or scale them up.

We invite you to explore these insightful think pieces in ‘Generation Power: The Future of Clean Energy Issue 2’ and to learn more about the Clean Energy Fellowship program here: Clean Energy Fellowship.

The Clean Energy Awards 2025 concluded Cambodia's Clean Energy Week on October 9th at the Australian Ambassador's Residence. Presided over by Australian Ambassador Derek Yip and featuring remarks from Cambodia's Minister of Environment, the ceremony honored three recipients for their contributions to Cambodia's clean energy transition: Dr. Kinnaleth Vongchanh received the Clean Energy Champion Award for his work with the CEMAT Program, UNICEF Cambodia won the Most Impactful Clean Energy Community Project Award, and Sela Pepper Co., Ltd. earned the Energy Efficiency Award. The awards recognize leadership in advancing clean energy as both an environmental priority and economic opportunity for Cambodia.

TO CONCLUDE

We wish to acknowledge our excellent sponsors - founding sponsors Government of Australia and the UNDP, our sponsors GERES, ClimateWorks Foundation, Oxfam, Australia through CAPRED, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, the British Embassy and Liechtenstein Development Service and our private sector partners VeryWords, TotalEnergy, and ONiON for their invaluable support in making Clean Energy Week 2025 a resounding success. All of the commitment and collaboration enabled us to bring together various backgrounds of participants, speakers, and engaging sessions, fostering meaningful discussions on clean energy, sustainable development, and industrial transformation. Your partnership demonstrates a shared vision for a cleaner, more sustainable, and competitive Cambodia, and we deeply appreciate your trust, engagement, and contribution to this important journey.

CEW25 UNLOCKING A CLEAN ENERGY ECONOMY

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