PHNOM PENH, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia is encouraging green industry development in order to minimize impact on environment and reduce emission of greenhouse gas, Minister of Industry and Handicraft Cham Prasidh said Monday.
Speaking at the Green Industry Seminar, Prasidh said currently industry has seen rapid growth but contributed to increasing greenhouse gas, which is a global concern.
"We need both industry development and environment protection," he said. "So it is necessary to promote green industry development and to take environmental impacts into serious consideration for sustainable growth in the future."
He said green industry is a two-pronged approach to sustainable development, leading to an economy that is resource-efficient and less polluting.
The seminar was co-organized by the Ministry of Industry and Handicraft, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Global Environmental Fund.
Permod Kumar Gupta, chief technical advisor of UNIDO, said the agency has been carrying out many green industry projects in Cambodia in order to help secure resource-efficient and low-carbon growth.
"This creates new jobs while protecting the environment," he said. "We're assisting Cambodia to move to clean technologies."