NUOL hosts 4th Climate Compatible Growth annual workshop

The Climate Compatible Growth (CCG) programme and the National University of Laos (NUOL) delivered the 4th Lao PDR CCG Annual Workshop at the Crowne Plaza Vientiane on February 13.
The CCG programme is a UK Government-funded initiative that aims to support Laos in achieving its net zero goals by supporting evidence-based energy and transport policy development.
The programme has been running since 2021, when it first formed a partnership with the Faculty of Engineering at NUOL.
Each year, the CCG programme hosts its annual workshop in Vientiane to showcase significant research projects and highlight areas of policy impact.
The workshops are designed to promote dialogue across a variety of stakeholder groups, including government policy-makers, academics, international development agencies, and private sector representatives.
Friday’s gathering was opened by the Mekong Development Counsellor for the British Embassy in Vientiane, Mr Louis Mulvaney, and the President of the

National University of Laos, Prof. Dr Dexanourath Seneduangdeth.
Both expressed great appreciation for the work that the CCG programme has delivered in Laos and their support for the Lao researchers and analysts who comprise the Lao PDR CCG Network.
The first session of the event provided an overview of the Network’s achievements to date, delivered by Asst. Prof. Dr Sounthisack Phommachanh, one of the CCG Coordinators from NUOL.
Dr Phommachanh announced that the Faculty of Engineering will be establishing a new research laboratory, the ‘Clean Energy and Green Growth Laboratory’. The lab will have three fundamental aims: (i) to enhance the research-policy interface in Laos, (ii) to enhance the capacity of Lao analysts to apply models to policy-facing research, and (iii) to bridge the gap between national planning documents and finance strategies.
Next, the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Assoc. Prof. Dr Khampaseuth Thepvongsa, gave an overview of the Faculty’s strategy, highlighting the ways in which the new lab will support the delivery of the strategy.
During the subsequent session, participants were provided with updates from several policy-facing projects, including a talk by Dr Santisouk Phimphachanh from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce on ‘Policy Innovation for Clean Energy Transition in the Lao PDR: the Role of Regional Cooperation’, and another from Dr Bouneua Khamphilavanh from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment on the Lao PDR NDC 3.0 update.
After this, a series of talks was delivered by researchers and analysts from the National University of Laos and domestic and international research institutions conducting CCG-funded research.
The Lao Social Policy Research team delivered a presentation on their project titled ‘Fair, Inclusive and Sustainable Energy Transition in Lao PDR’.
Similarly, Dr Avakat Phasouyaingam from the National University of Laos gave a talk on applying the Climate-Land-Energy-Water Systems model to analyse resource trade-offs within the context of climate change.
Finally, the event concluded with a panel discussion, with speakers from throughout the day’s sessions receiving questions from the audience and discussing the intersection between policy-making processes and academic research in Laos.
Looking ahead, Climate Compatible Growth and the National University of Laos remain committed to supporting the development of evidence-based decision-making in Laos and will focus their efforts on doing so through the new Clean Energy and Green Growth Laboratory at NUOL.

By Advertorial Desk
(Latest Update February 16, 2026)