Stockholm+50 national consultations in Vietnam launched

UNDP Resident Representative Caitlin Wiesen speaks at the event. (Photo: nguoiduatin.vn)

Hanoi (VNA) – The official launch of the Stockholm +50 National Consultations in Vietnam was organised on April 13 in Hanoi by the Embassy of Sweden in Vietnam, the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment (ISPONRE) under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Vietnam. 

The event aims to bring the views of the Vietnamese people to the global stage on the key challenges that people and the planet are facing. 

The UN General Assembly has decided to convene a high-level meeting entitled “Stockholm +50: a healthy planet for the prosperity of all – our responsibility, our opportunity”, to define urgent, concrete actions that all people can take to protect the planet to ensure a strong, long-term foundation for a green, inclusive future. The meeting will be hosted by the Government of Sweden with the support from the Kenyan Government in Stockholm on June 2 and 3 this year.

Addressing the event, Ambassador Ann Måwe stressed that Stockholm 50 aims to substantially contribute to accelerating the necessary green and sustainable transition.

Time is running out and the global challenges people face must be met with a collective response that drives action on the ground, she said.

The leadup to the conference will be an inclusive process to bring in a diversity of voices. Vietnam is one of 58 countries to organize multi-stakeholder national consultations to inform the discussions at the global conference. In collaboration with partners, UNDP will conduct a series of national consultations in Vietnam.  

UNDP Resident Representative Caitlin Wiesen said that national consultations will address areas critical to a just climate transition in Vietnam and achieving the Prime Minister’s bold commitments made at COP26 to zero net carbon emissions by 2050.

The consultations will grapple with three questions: what nature-based solutions will reverse dangerous environmental trends in Vietnam; what actions will ensure a green and just energy transition that creates sustainable opportunities to lift millions out of poverty; and thirdly, which leveraged actions would accelerate a circular economy and address unsustainable consumption patterns as Vietnam realizes its full economic potential, said Wiesen.

The recommendations from the consultations will be combined into a Vietnam report and contribute to shaping key messages at the global Stockholm Plus 50 Conference for addressing the climate crisis the human face. 

According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Dinh Tho, Director General of ISPONRE, recently, the Vietnamese Government has made strong commitments to protecting natural resources and the environment as well as responding to climate change, thus contributing to the global joint effort to develop circular economy towards net zero emissions.

In the framework of the event, a short film to urge more climate action from global leaders was screened, popularising the message: “Don’t choose extinction, save the human species before it's too late”./.