He also asked ministries and sectors must regularly update their development planning in the context of climate change in order to work out effective response measures.

The Government leader chaired a meeting of the National Steering Committee for the National Climate Change Response Programme in Hanoi on December 7. The meeting reviewed the Committee’s performance this year and discussed its action plans for the coming years.

Participants pointed out that the unseasonal floods have ravaged the central and central highland regions and caused droughts in the Red river delta, resulting in lower water levels in the river than have been experienced in over a hundred years. 

Since the adoption of Decision 158/2008/QD-TTg that details the National Climate Change Response Programme, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment has worked together with other ministries and sectors to come up with climate change and sea level rise scenarios for the country.

The ministry, which takes the lead in the fight against climate change, has issued guidelines to help other ministries and localities nationwide to formulate their own action plans to deal with the issue.

It is estimated that nearly VND2,000 billion will be needed for the implementation of the climate change response programme by 2015, with half of the amount provided by international organisations and donors.

The ministry has already proposed comprehensive measures to deploy the National Climate Change Response Programme for 2010 and the following years.