The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) International Forum on Climate Change opened in Ha Long city, the northern province of Quang Ninh, on September 6, aiming at strengthening international cooperation in response to climate change.

The two-day forum, organised by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE), has attracted more than 150 delegates from Australia, Denmark, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK and host Vietnam.

Speaking at the forum, MoNRE Deputy Minister Tran Hong Ha emphasised the serious impacts of climate change which are posing real risks for Vietnam ’s poverty reduction and sustainable development as well as its implementation of millennium development goals (MDGs).

Therefore, the Vietnamese government has ratified and joined the UN Frame Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol (KP), he said.

The government has issued many documents and instructions on activities to deal with climate change and entrusted the MoNRE to coordinate these activities, he added.

Based on domestic and foreign studies, in early 2009, the MoNRE finished the building of scenarios on climate change in Vietnam , especially rising sea levels. Scenarios will be updated in late 2010 and the updating will be conducted regularly until 2100.

The forum will discuss such issues as the vulnerability and adaptation to impacts of climate change, opportunities and challenges for low carbon economies and ASEM cooperation as part of global efforts. Participants are expected to put forth recommendations and initiatives for closer ASEM cooperation in dealing with the problem.

Ha stated that the forum is one of the activities to realise the government’s master plan and action plan on Vietnam-EU relations by 2010 with orientations to 2015, especially in the field of natural resources and environment./.