Vietnam strongly commits to climate change response ahead of COP26

Vietnam’s President Nguyen Xuan Phuc addressing  the 76th Session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City on September 22, 2021 (https://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com)

By Phong Lan Dantri Online Newspaper, Vietnam

HANOI: As one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change, Vietnam is determined to respond to climate change with lots of activities and commitments being made by local authorities and people.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Vietnam on October 22 launched a news portal on climate change for local young people. The event, which was held virtually ahead of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), saw the participation of more than 2,400 Vietnamese youths from different regions.

The portal provides a learning space for young people to access reliable, accurate and contextual information in Vietnam on climate science, agriculture and forestry, energy, waste, circular economy and climate policy. It reshapes and updates climate science and policy into youth-friendly learning themes.

A report launched in August by UNICEF showed that children and young people living in Vietnam are among those most at risk of the impacts of climate change, threatening their health, education, and protection.

A screenshot of the news portal on climate change for Vietnamese young people

The report found that Vietnamese children are highly exposed to air pollution and flooding. It calls for investments in climate action and environmental protection that will secure development gains and ensure a sustainable future for children. In addition, measures such as a COVID-19 green recovery, improved access to safe water, and climate education can make a significant difference in our ability to safeguard children’s futures from the impacts of climate change.

Speaking at a UN Security Council discussion on climate security during the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York City late September, Vietnamese State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc also pointed out that Vietnam was among the countries most affected by climate change and underlined the country’s commitment to fight it and develop a sustainable, green economy with low carbon emissions.

The devastating impacts of climate change are sparking conflicts and geopolitical instability, which directly affects peace, security and development in several areas around the world,” he said, urging the UN Security Council to build evaluation and climate security warning systems so that threats could be identified early on and become the basis for policymaking on a global level.

He called for using warning systems and environmental databases to battle climate change.

Many studies and surveys in recent years have shown Vietnam is among the economies most impacted by climate change.

The Global Climate Risk Index report ranked Vietnam 13th among the economies most affected by climate change between 2000 and 2019. The country’s southern economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City could be underwater by 2050 and millions of people in the Mekong Delta region—the country’s largest rice basket—could be forced to flee coastal areas.

Quang Tri was hard hit by floods in 2020 (Photo: Dantri)

By 2100, climate change could impact more than 12% of the Vietnamese population and reduce growth by 10%. Therefore, the Vietnamese government considers the response to climate change a vital issue and has implemented environmental policies to better cope with these risks.

In response to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s report on climate change in 2021 released early August, Deputy Spokeswoman of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pham Thu Hang said that Vietnam is determined and strongly committed to responding to climate change, including proactive adaptation and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the country’s commitments to international community.

And Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, during a phone talk with US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry on October 8, also affirmed Vietnam’s commitment to coping with climate change, including shifting to a low-carbon economy, easing reliance on coal-fueled power and increasing the rate of renewable energy.