Universities have actively contributed to the way people think about climate change, helping promote green technologies and environmentally friendly lifestyles, heard those attending an international conference in Hanoi on Dec. 11.
The three-day event entitled "The Role of Universities in a Smart Response to Climate Change" attracted more than 200 representatives.
Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Nguyen Van Duc said Vietnam, like many other countries in the Asia-Pacific region, is increasingly suffering from the effects of climate change.
The three-day event entitled "The Role of Universities in a Smart Response to Climate Change" attracted more than 200 representatives.
Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Nguyen Van Duc said Vietnam, like many other countries in the Asia-Pacific region, is increasingly suffering from the effects of climate change.
"Having recognised the seriousness of climate change on the country's sustainable development, the Government has ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol," Duc said.
He said first and foremost scientific institutions need to build a knowledge base on climate change and natural resources, while developing sound ways to mitigate the effects of global warming.
"Not only training, education and research but also spreading awareness about climate change among the community will help address the problem and promote sustainable development," he said.
He added that global warming will lead to increasing temperatures, rising sea levels and more severe natural disasters, which will put stress on the socio-economy and political system.
Mai Trong Nhuan, president of the Vietnam National University and president of the Association of Southeast Asian Institutions of Higher Learning (ASAIHL), said climate change is a problem that should be tackled the whole of mankind.
"Universities have to renew their mission of becoming more interdisciplinary in their focus, while getting closer to communities," Nhuan said.
Universities need to invest not only in training and research, but also in building a sustainable structure, while improving relations between scientific and political policies.
Prof Nobuo Miruma, assistant vice president and director of the Institute for Global Change Adaptation Science at Japan’s Ibaraki University, said close collaboration between higher education and research is important to tackling the problem of global warming.
"By conducting research, students can understand the problem more deeply and improve their capacity to tackle the problem," he said.
He added that awareness of the problem should be promoted among decision makers in the environment ministry and planners at the United Nations.
"Universities have three major tasks – education, research and communicating the results of that research," said Nils Roar Saelthun, from the department of Geosciences at the University of Oslo, Norway. She said climate change is one of the main challenges affecting modern society. Universities therefore needed the training, tools and knowledge to disseminate information about global warming.
"They have the challenge of integrating training in public communication with outreach in their research education," she said.
Pham Van Cu, director of Vietnam’s International Centre for Advanced Research on Global Change, said higher education is recognised by the international community as an important instrument for finding ways to cope with climate change./.
He said first and foremost scientific institutions need to build a knowledge base on climate change and natural resources, while developing sound ways to mitigate the effects of global warming.
"Not only training, education and research but also spreading awareness about climate change among the community will help address the problem and promote sustainable development," he said.
He added that global warming will lead to increasing temperatures, rising sea levels and more severe natural disasters, which will put stress on the socio-economy and political system.
Mai Trong Nhuan, president of the Vietnam National University and president of the Association of Southeast Asian Institutions of Higher Learning (ASAIHL), said climate change is a problem that should be tackled the whole of mankind.
"Universities have to renew their mission of becoming more interdisciplinary in their focus, while getting closer to communities," Nhuan said.
Universities need to invest not only in training and research, but also in building a sustainable structure, while improving relations between scientific and political policies.
Prof Nobuo Miruma, assistant vice president and director of the Institute for Global Change Adaptation Science at Japan’s Ibaraki University, said close collaboration between higher education and research is important to tackling the problem of global warming.
"By conducting research, students can understand the problem more deeply and improve their capacity to tackle the problem," he said.
He added that awareness of the problem should be promoted among decision makers in the environment ministry and planners at the United Nations.
"Universities have three major tasks – education, research and communicating the results of that research," said Nils Roar Saelthun, from the department of Geosciences at the University of Oslo, Norway. She said climate change is one of the main challenges affecting modern society. Universities therefore needed the training, tools and knowledge to disseminate information about global warming.
"They have the challenge of integrating training in public communication with outreach in their research education," she said.
Pham Van Cu, director of Vietnam’s International Centre for Advanced Research on Global Change, said higher education is recognised by the international community as an important instrument for finding ways to cope with climate change./.
