Vietnam deems climate change adaptation mandatory for survival: official
Vietnam is a country vulnerable to the effects of climate change and as such, it considers adaptation a mandatory requirement to survive, said an official of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE).
The remark was made by Pham Van Tan, Deputy Director of the MoNRE’s Department of Climate Change, at a consultation workshop on a technical report that reviewed and updated Vietnam’s nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement on climate change.
The event aimed to provide up-to-date information on the country’s efforts and contributions towards climate change adaptation and reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for 2021-2030.
Vietnam is joining the international community in realising the Paris Agreement, which aims to keep this century’s global temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Through these actions, it also hopes to fulfil the obligations of a developing nation member of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and make use of opportunities to develop a low-carbon economy.
MoNRE Deputy Minister Le Cong Thanh said the ministry has set up a working group to review and update Vietnam’s NCDs. An advisory team has also been mobilised to coordinate with the working group.
Akiko Fujii, Deputy Country Director of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Vietnam, said relevant ministries and sectors, researchers, the media, and civil organisations all play a very important role in finalising and assessing technical reports on NCDs. The UNDP is coordinating with the MoNRE and relevant ministries to improve the country’s report assessment capacity.
Pham Van Tan said reports on NCDs must feature significant, detailed content relating to the responsibilities and activities of almost all ministries, sectors, localities, and businesses. Therefore, although there have been updates to this term’s NCD review compared to the previous review, they are simply not enough.
At the workshop, participants discussed climate change-related issues to help finalise the report.
The event was held by the MoNRE, the UNDP, and the German organisation for international cooperation GIZ.