Cambodia is part of mainland Southeast Asia, bordered by Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam and with a coastal region on the Gulf of Thailand. The Mekong River is a prominent geographical feature of the country, flowing from Laos in the north to the Mekong Delta of Vietnam in the south; feeding into the Tonle Sap Lake. The Tonle Sap is a vital natural resource, covering almost 10% of the nation’s surface area during the peak of the Southwest Monsoon season and constituting the nation’s primary protein source. Cambodia’s topography includes the low-lying central plains of the Mekong, which are surrounded by mountainous and highland regions. 

Cambodia faces high disaster risks from flood and drought, due both to high levels of exposure and vulnerability. Natural resource dependence is also high, and the changes in the dynamics of the Mekong River, expected due to the larges scale damming which is ongoing in most of the Mekong countries, may have negative ramifications for precarious livelihoods in Cambodia.
 
The Royal Government of Cambodia launched the first Climate Change Strategic Plan – 2014-2023 (CCCSP) in 2013. The CCCSP captures the main strategic objectives and directions for climate-smart development in Cambodia over the next 10 years. Cambodia submitted its Initial Nationally Determined Contribution in 2016 and submitted its Updated Nationally Determined Contribution in December, 2020, which established the country’s commitment to its mitigation and adaptation efforts. 

Cambodia’s Second National Communication to the UNFCCC (NC2) (2016) identifies the impacts of climate change in Cambodia upon human lives and the expected significant damage to economic development and natural resources. These include intensified floods, droughts, saline intrusion and extreme weather events. Cambodia remains highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change due to its high dependency on climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, water resources, forestry, fisheries, tourism, etc., which form the critical foundation of its economic growth and support the livelihoods of a great significant majority of its population.  The country is also committed to meeting its greenhouse gas emission targets  and ensuring appropriate mitigation and environmental management efforts across key sectors. Current emissions projections indicate that the Forestry and Land Use sector is expected to have 49.2% of sectoral emissions by 2030, followed by Energy at 22.2%, Agriculture at 17.5%, Industry at 9.0% and Waste at 2.1%. Cambodia’s NC2 outlines its measures to mitigate and adapt to climate change and related plans, programs and projects in these areas; financial commitments, technology transfer and international cooperation; systematic research and observation; education, training and public awareness; and constraints, gaps and related financial, technical and capacity needs.