Kampong Khleang, Siam Reap Province, Cambodia © Pexels

Inclusive social protection systems that can anticipate risks, adapt to change, and respond swiftly in times of crisis are among the most effective investments in climate resilience. As the first country to comprehensively integrate social protection into its national climate commitments, Cambodia is charting a path toward climate action that puts people at the forefront.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Paris Agreement – the world’s collective commitment to tackle the drivers and consequences of climate change. As nations gather in Brazil for the 30^th Conference of the Parties (COP30), the world remains off track to meet the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. At the same time, the impacts of climate change – heatwaves, droughts, floods, and wildfires – are already being felt in many parts of the world in ways that are profoundly unequal. There is mounting urgency to address this injustice by investing in and scaling up measures which emphasise adaptation and resilience, particularly for those who are poor and most vulnerable.

Social protection has an important role to play in managing the social, economic and political disruptions which accompany intensifying climate change. In his recent report, Weathering the Storm, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, Olivier De Schutter, described social protection as ‘the most effective tool at our disposal for building people’s ability to withstand and recover from shocks, including climate related shocks.’

This year, in the run-up to COP30, Cambodia broke new ground when it decided to include the social protection sector in its third Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0), the official commitments which parties to the Paris Agreement submit every five years to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This article takes a look at how Cambodia became one of the first countries in the world to bring social protection into the heart of its climate action framework and why these matters for the evolution of climate-sensitive social protection.

What’s the connection between social protection and climate action?

When the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its Sixth Assessment Report in 2022, it sent a clear message: social protection is not just about poverty reduction, it is a vital tool for climate adaptation.

National social protection systems support individuals and households to address risks which typically arise across the life cycle, as well as in times of crisis. They protect people from poverty, reduce vulnerability, strengthen livelihoods and help to reduce social and economic inequalities. During COVID-19, these systems proved their worth: countries with established programmes were able to act faster and more flexibly, cushioning millions from the pandemic’s social and economic shocks.

This experience has reshaped global thinking. As the calls for closer integration between social protection and climate action have gotten louder, various actors at the global level have been working to ensure that countries vulnerable to climate change can access climate financing for the implementation of climate-sensitive social protection programmes. One such example is the Task Force on Linking Adaptive Social Protection and Climate Financing, supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), which has been promoting the integration of social protection in climate commitments, strategies and financing. Among others, the Task Force identified the development of new and updated NDCs in the run-up to COP30 as a critical window of opportunity for countries to embed social protection in climate action.

A social protection system with proven capacity to respond to shocks

As a lower middle-income country with a predominantly rural population and heavy reliance on agriculture, Cambodia is already feeling the effects of climate change in the form of heat waves, droughts and floods, among others. According to a representative of the General Secretariat of the National Social Protection Council (GS-NSPC), the lead institution for the coordination of social protection in Cambodia, climate-related events have become more frequent in recent years, and poor and vulnerable households are the ones who are most affected.

NDC 3.0: The right opportunity at the right time

The NDC update offered a concrete opportunity to bring social protection deeper into national climate action frameworks in Cambodia. The Ministry of Environment, which facilitates the NDC process, was open to expanding the sectors included in the updated pledge. At the COP28, parties had agreed on the need to increase ambition, action and support to address climate change. The addition of the social protection sector was in line with heightened emphasis being placed on adaptation measures.

---

Following high-level meetings between the leadership of the Ministry of Environment and the GS-NSPC, the latter was invited to join the NDC process representing the social protection sector. Over the course of year, officials from the GS-NSPC got an intensive ‘crash course’ in climate policymaking, as they took part in workshops and sectoral consultations alongside line ministries, development partners, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholder groups, including those representing young people and persons with disabilities.

At the end of the process, 163 measures were endorsed, including 75 related to adaptation. Four of these relate specifically to social protection. Each measure is linked to indicators, targets, timelines and costings.

A complex process with far-reaching benefits for human-centered climate response

GIZ, which implements the Improving Social Protection and Health (ISPH) project on behalf of BMZ with co-financing from the Australian government, served as the lead technical assistance agency throughout the process. According to a representative of the GS-NSPC, the support from partners was key. The complexity of the NDC process makes it challenging for newcomers to navigate. Technical support from partners helped to develop the understandings and capacities necessary to engage with the process at every stage.

While the most visible outcome was the formal inclusion of social protection in the endorsed NDC document, the intense year-long exercise yielded other important results. Not only did social protection policymakers ‘learn the ropes’ in a high-level climate policy process, but their counterparts from government line ministries developed a much greater appreciation of social protection and how it can be leveraged to address climate change.   

‘A very positive outcome of this process is the closer links that have been established across ministries,’ according to Maren Suchta-Platzmann, a technical advisor with GIZ. The strong policy framework for integrating social protection and climate change provides a foundation for sustained investment in the social protection system. For example, Cambodia, through the National Committee for Sub-National Democratic Development (NCDD-S), is currently developing a project for the Green Climate Fund that would leverage social protection databases to address heatwaves.

From global commitments to national action

At COP30 global leaders are endorsing the Belém Declaration on Hunger, Poverty and Human-Centred Climate Action, which has been adopted by Germany, the European Union and other member states. The declaration acknowledges that, despite ongoing mitigation and adaptation efforts, the impacts of climate change are already being felt worldwide — and that these impacts are profoundly unequal. Addressing this imbalance requires a fundamental shift in how the world approaches climate action, with greater focus on the specific needs and circumstances of the most vulnerable.

Cambodia is putting these principles into practice. Its efforts are already closely aligned with the vision of the Belém Declaration, demonstrating how social protection can anchor human-centred climate action. The next step is to ensure these commitments are fully and sustainably financed. Keeping these national efforts linked to global discussions, including through opportunities like the Belém Declaration and the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, will be key to exploring how climate finance can better flow through national systems, helping to turn ambition into tangible results for those most at risk.

Karen Birdsall
November 2025