Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung urged the National Committee on Climate Change to promptly complete a national action plan on climate change, while chairing the committee’s first session in Hanoi on Jan. 11.

PM Dung stressed that Vietnam is one of the countries seriously affected by climate change, especially rising sea levels. Therefore, he requested drastic actions and effective solutions to ensure the country’s sustainable development, since coping with climate change is an urgent national issue.

The PM also asked the Ministry of Planning and Investment to complete the Green Growth Strategy Framework for 2011-2020, with a vision to 2050, and other ministries and branches to boost international cooperation and call for foreign assistance for the implementation of climate change projects.

On the basis of climate change impact assessments and short, medium and long-term measures aimed at coping with climate change implemented by ministries and branches over the past two years, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has drafted a national action plan on climate change.

The draft plan specified key tasks in the 2012-2020 period, focusing on climate change adaptation, actively coping with natural disasters and rising sea levels, ensuring food and water security, preventing floods in major cities and strengthening river and sea dykes.

The action plan will pay attention to lessening greenhouse effects and utilising all resources to cope with climate change.

The draft action plan will be submitted to the Prime Minister for approval in the first quarter of 2012.

By the end of 2011, 15 out of 63 provinces and centrally governed cities had issued their own climate change action plans./.