Cambodia Transport Air Pollution Profile 2026
CAMBODIA
TRANSPORT AIR POLLUTION PROFILE
Supported by:
Background
Cambodia's rapid economic expansion—averaging 8.8% annual GDP growth since 2010—has generated both prosperity and environmental pressures that increasingly threaten public health and sustainable development. With a population of 17.6 million and GDP per capita of $7,970 in 2024, this lower-middle-income Southeast Asian nation confronts a transport air pollution challenge that mirrors the trajectory of many rapidly motorizing economies in the region.
The concentration of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) in Cambodia has declined from 26.8 micrograms per cubic meter in 2000 to 19.4 in 2023, representing meaningful progress yet remaining nearly four times the World Health Organization's air quality guideline of 5 micrograms per cubic meter. While Cambodia's levels sit marginally below Southeast Asia's regional average of 20.2, the health toll remains substantial. The World Bank estimates that 3,499 premature deaths occurred in 2019 due to ambient PM 2.5 exposure, with transport tailpipe emissions alone accounting for approximately 215 of these fatalities. Occupational exposure to diesel engine exhausts claimed at least 32 lives in 2023, equivalent to 2 deaths per million population. The economic burden is equally striking: health damages from ambient and household PM 2.5 exposure reached $6.3 billion in 2019, representing approximately 8% of GDP—a figure that exceeds the 4.7% of GDP allocated to healthcare in 2022.
Between 2010 and 2022, transport-sector PM2.5 emissions grew by 7.2% annually, outpacing the 4.2% growth rate observed between 2000 and 2010. By 2022, transport accounted for a quarter of Cambodia's total PM 2.5 emissions. The modal distribution reveals a distinctive pattern: rail transport dominates at 63% of transport PM 2.5 emissions, followed by road transport at 20% and domestic navigation at 17%, while domestic aviation contributes negligibly. The share of road transport declined from 27% in 2010 to 20% by 2022, while the share of domestic navigation increased from 15% to 17% over the same period. Within the road sector, heavy-duty vehicles overwhelmingly dominate emissions profiles, accounting for 89% of PM 2.5 emissions in 2025 according to IIASA estimates, with light-duty vehicles contributing 7% and motorcycles just 3%.
Non-exhaust emissions from resuspended dust, brake wear, and tire wear have increased substantially, accounting for 29% of road-sector PM2.5 emissions by 2022, up from 21% in 2010. This increasing share of non-exhaust emissions presents distinct policy challenges, as these pollution sources persist even with vehicle electrification and cleaner combustion technologies.
Transport-sector nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions increased by 6.6% annually between 2010 and 2022, with transport accounting for 63% of Cambodia's total NOx emissions by 2022. Road transport generates 63% of transport NOx emissions, rail contributes 25%, and domestic navigation 11%. Heavy-duty vehicles again dominate road sector NOx emissions at 77%, with light-duty vehicles contributing 22%. The transport sector's contribution to sulfur oxide (SOx) emissions remains comparatively modest at 5% of national totals, yet domestic navigation accounts for 95% of transport-related SOx emissions, reflecting the sector's continued reliance on high-sulfur marine fuels. SOx emissions from transport grew 8.0% annually between 2010 and 2022, accelerating from the 1.8% growth rate of the previous decade.
Black carbon (BC) emissions from transport, which declined 1.2% between 2000 and 2010, reversed course with 5.2% annual growth from 2010 to 2022. Road transport's share of transport BC emissions decreased from 73% to 62% over this period, while domestic navigation's contribution increased from 20% to 28%. Methane (CH4) and non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC) from transport remain predominantly road-based, with 92% and 91% originating from the road sector respectively by 2022.
The road sector dominated transport energy consumption in 2023 at 82%, with rail accounting for 14% and domestic navigation 3%. Cambodia's transport sector remains entirely dependent on oil products—a share unchanged since 2010—with biofuels and electricity contributing 0% to the energy mix as of 2023. Electric vehicle imports reached $172 million between 2017 and 2024, representing 9% of total road vehicle imports by 2024, with light-duty vehicles constituting 92% of EV imports. Cambodia's E-mobility Readiness Index score of 78 out of 100 reflects moderate preparedness, with relative strengths in policy frameworks (25 points) but significant gaps in technology and market development (14 points).
The country's grid emission factor stands at 498 grams of CO2 per kilowatt-hour in 2024, below Southeast Asia's average of 583 but showing a slight regression of 0.4% since 2015, contrasting with the broader Asia-Pacific region's 1.4% annual improvement. This stagnation in grid decarbonization limits the climate benefits of transport electrification. Fossil fuel subsidies impose additional external costs on Cambodian society, with 34% manifesting as increased local air pollution. Fuel tax revenues comprise approximately 11% of total government revenue, creating fiscal vulnerabilities as transport electrification could potentially erode this revenue base.
Despite relatively low motorization rates—55 vehicles per thousand population in 2024, compared with the Asia-Pacific average of 317—urban residents face concentrated exposure to pollution. The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy estimates that only 79% of Cambodia's urban population lives beyond 500 meters from highways, indicating that one in five urban residents experiences direct exposure to high-volume traffic corridors. Public transport accessibility remains severely limited: in 40% of Cambodia's five urban agglomerations, eight out of ten residents lack convenient access to public transport services. This infrastructure deficit perpetuates dependence on private vehicles while constraining low-emission mobility options.
Air Quality
Air Pollution from Transport
Health Burden
Resuspended Dust, Brake, and Tyre-wear
Vehicle Fuel Mix
Vehicle Fleet
Policy Landscape
EV in public transport
| Long-Term Strategy for Carbon Neutrality | Not Found | Moderate penetration of electric vehicles – 70 percent for motorcycles and 40 percent for cars and urban buses by 2050 | 2050 |
| Cambodia Country Report | 2023 | Moderate penetration of electric vehicles – 70 percent for motorcycles and 40 percent for cars and urban buses by 2050 | 2050 |
EV mandates/ procurement
| Cambodia EV Roadmap | Not Found | Long-Term Strategy for Carbon Neutrality is the guiding document that aim to introduce 70% of electric motorcycles, 40% of electric cars and urban buses in Cambodia vehicle fleet by 2050 | 2050 |
| COP26 declaration on accelerating the transition to 100% zero emission cars and vans | Not Found | As cities, states, and regional governments, we will work towards converting our owned or leased car and van fleets to zero emission vehicles by 2035 at the latest + Policies | 2035 |
| COP26 declaration on accelerating the transition to 100% zero emission cars and vans | Not Found | All sales of new cars and vans being zero emission by 2040 or earlier, or by no later than 2035 in leading markets | 2040 |
| Long-Term Strategy for Carbon Neutrality | Not Found | Moderate penetration of electric vehicles – 70 percent for motorcycles and 40 percent for cars and urban buses by 2050 | 2050 |
| Cambodia's Third Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0) | Not Found | Unconditional target (i) E-2 wheelers: 35% of total motorcycle fleet (8650 as of 2020) (ii) E-3 wheelers: 5% of total tuk tuk fleet (2375 as of 2020) (iii) Passenger e-cars: 5% of total car stock (4750 as of 2020) Conditional target: (i) Urban e-buses: 20% of public bus fleet | 2035 |
| National Policy on Development of electric vehicle sector 2024-2030 | 2024 | Total electric cars: 30,000 units. Private electric cars: 25,000 units. Commercial electric cars: 5,000 units. Total electric tricycles (Tuk-tuks): 20,000 units. | 2030 |
| National Policy on Development of electric vehicle sector 2024-2030 | 2024 | • EV cars: To reach 40% of the total car fleet by 2050. • EV motorcycles: To reach 70% of the total motorcycle fleet by 2050. | 2050 |
| Cambodia Country Report | 2023 | All sales of new cars and vans being zero emission by 2040 or earlier, or by no later than 2035 in leading markets | 2040 |
| Cambodia Country Report | 2023 | Moderate penetration of electric vehicles – 70 percent for motorcycles and 40 percent for cars and urban buses by 2050 | 2050 |
Fuel quality improvement
| Clean Air Plan of Cambodia | Not Found | Sulfur level to meet Euro V level | 2024 |
Vehicle air pollution emission standards
| Clean Air Plan of Cambodia | Not Found | Imported cars to meet Euro V in 2027 | 2027 |
Vehicle restrictions (import, age, access, sale, taxation)
| Clean Air Plan of Cambodia | Not Found | Reducing import of used cars 30% in 2030 | 2030 |
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