Taxonomy Consultant - Cambodia

TERMS OF REFERENCE  

Local consultant for Cambodia Taxonomy – Project Implementation 

Background  

The Climate Bonds Initiative (Climate Bonds) is an international non-governmental organisation whose main task is to mobilise capital to achieve climate goals. Currently, Climate Bonds has been selected to aid in the development of the sustainable finance taxonomy of Cambodia, which should contribute to the development of the green finance market in the country. The project will consist of many stages and involve the active participation of a local partner with expertise in the fields of sustainable finance. 

The project is expected to last from April 2024 to February 2025. During the project, a comprehensive analysis of the target sectors (to be determined; energy, transport, agriculture anticipated) of the Cambodian economy will be carried out; technical working groups of local experts, government and business representatives will be created; criteria for classifying activities in all three sectors as low-carbon and in transition to net zero  will be created; recommendations will be given on the application of the resulting criteria in real life the economy. 

Upon completion of the development process, several rounds of technical, targeted and public consultations will be held to gather feedback on the drafted taxonomy. After finalising the document, a capacity building session will be held to help integrate the results of the work into the day-to-day operations of financial and industrial enterprises in Cambodia. 

Purpose and Objectives 

Climate Bonds is seeking an experienced consultant with expertise in sustainable finance, who is highly proficient in both English and Khmer, to facilitate development of the Cambodian taxonomy by liaising with local representatives, researching local regulatory and policy documents, providing insights on the local policy landscape, and assisting in building good working relationships with local entities. Translation from Khmer to English and back is expected.  

Scope of Services and Deliverables/Outputs 

The selected consultant for the project will be responsible for  supporting the Climate Bonds Taxonomy Team with the following tasks: 

• Analyse Cambodia’s existing policies in the field of decarbonisation of three selected sectors (to be determined). 
• Participate in the organisation of technical expert groups, including the search and selection of relevant institutions and experts. 

• Assist in the creation of criteria for decarbonisation of industries and localisation of international standards in accordance with the current conditions of Cambodia. 
• Communicate with representatives of the National Bank of Cambodia and its project partners on all issues related to the implementation of the project. 
• To control the quality of translation into Khmer of documents prepared within the framework of the project. 
• Accompany and assist Climate Bonds representatives during their stay in Cambodia. 

Timeframe and Milestones for expected Deliverables/Outputs 

Assistance in the creation and establishment of technical expert groups - May 2024 

Analysis of Cambodia’s regulatory framework and policy documents in relation to the three target sectors - May 2024 

Assist in first round virtual consultation workshop - June 2024 

Assistance in data retrieval in the development of criteria and thresholds for decarbonisation of activities related to target sectors of the economy - October 2024 

Assistance in conducting technical consultations, collecting and processing opinions of target experts, representatives of government agencies, NGOs and businesses - October 2024 

Quality control of the translation of the first version of the taxonomy draft - October 2024 

Assist in second round virtual consultation workshop - November 2024 

Assistance in conducting targeted stakeholder consultations, analysis and translation of feedback - November - December 2024 

Control of the final version of the translation - February 2025 

Assistance in conducting the capacity building session - February 2025  

Selection Criteria  

The consultant should have the following skills and experience:  

• Specialised education not lower than a master's degree in economics, finance or law 
• Experience in the field of green finance, green economy or decarbonisation of industry of at least 5 years 
• Proven experience of participating in the development of green finance taxonomies or other similar relevant sustainable finance policy areas 
• Native like fluency in Khmer and highly proficient writing and reading in English 
• Consultant should be based in Cambodia 

Documents  

Candidates need to submit: 

• Cover letter (max 1 page) explaining why they are the most suitable for the work. 
• Relevant Experience and references (max 2 page).  
• Recent CV  
• Financial proposal: expected daily rate 

Fees  

The consultant will be offered a lump sum fee inclusive of travel costs and payments will be made in instalments based on the outputs delivered and the approval of the work  by the Taxonomy team. 

Please submit your application to Climate Bonds to the following email: [email removed - click apply for more details].