(VOVworld) – On April 22 Vietnam and more than 100 other countries attended the signing ceremony of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change in New York 4 months after it was approved in Paris. Climate change adaptation is currently one of Vietnam’s priorities.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment reported complicated developments of climate change in Vietnam in 2015. Many localities recorded a temperature of 40 degrees Celsius, the highest in many decades. The effects of climate change have been detrimental to Vietnam’s socio-economic development. In 2015 natural disasters killed 154 people and caused property losses of 400 million USD. In early 2016 the El Nino phenomenon, the longest so far, caused severe drought and saltwater intrusion in the south central and central highlands regions and the Mekong Delta.
Increasing adaptability
As climate change is happening faster than predicted Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has called for more effective response. He said Vietnam should improve its ability to analyze and forecast climate change and its effects and increase coordination between sectors and regions, taking into consideration their strategies, plans, and projects. Prime Minister Phuc said: “We should focus on climate change response and adaptation. Natural resources management and environmental protection should be included in socio-economic development plans. Economics, society, and the environment should be interrelated.”
Prime Minister Phuc urged continued fine-tuning of laws and policies on climate change, economic restructuring, green and low-carbon growth, and greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. He said resources for climate change response should be diversified with priority given to projects to build and upgrade reservoirs and dykes and prevent land erosions.
Specific tasks given to key sectors
Prime Minister Phuc asked the National Committee on Climate Change, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Planning and Investment to increase international cooperation and call for international assistance in climate change response. In particular, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is required to incorporate climate change into irrigation and agricultural development plans in key areas. Prime Minister Phuc said areas affected by climate change should be supported and climate change effects should be studied for better solutions. Concerning the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Prime Minister Phuc said: “The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment should coordinate localities and sectors in preparing a scenario of climate change and rising seawaters in Vietnam. To this end, it is necessary to accelerate forecasts and studies of the immediate and long-term effects of climate change on key sectors and areas, particularly rural areas.”
Effective response to climate change will not only contribute to Vietnam’s socio-economic development but also to the implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.