Vietnam promotes environmental, climate diplomacy to serve development

Geneva (VNA) - Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations (UN), the World Trade Organisation and other international organisations in Geneva, attended and delivered speeches at two panel discussions of the Building Bridges Week (BBW) held in Switzerland from October 3-7.

Specifically, Mai was one among speakers of the panel on “Insuring Nature to Reduce Risks – Risk-transfer Solutions for Coral Reefs” chaired by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Office in Geneva, and another on “Financing Climate Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction in Emerging Markets and Developing Economies” by the World Bank (WB) Office here.

Addressing these events, Mai introduced Vietnam's guidelines and policies in response to climate change, mitigate disaster impacts, restore and protect natural resources such as coral reefs. Vietnam has committed to achieving net-zero carbon neutrality by 2050 as announced by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in November 2021.

Vietnam's socio-economic development plan for 2021-2025 places priority on climate change adaptation, environmental protection, circular economy transformation and green finance for sustainable development, she said, adding that to address the impacts of coral reef degradation on the livelihoods of coastal people and to achieve the sustainable development goal (SDG) 14 on the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine resources, Vietnam has been implementing the National Programme on Sustainable Development, approved by the Government in 2017, and the Strategy for Sustainable Development of the Maritime Economy by 2030, with a vision to 2045 issued in 2018 by the 8th Plenum of the 12th Party Central Committee.

The lack of financial resources is one of the most crucial barriers to the implementation of the SDGs, including criteria related to environmental protection and climate change adaptation in Vietnam and other developing countries, she stressed.

On these occasions, Ambassador Mai expressed her thanks to the WB and UNDP for their great support and policy advice for Vietnam in implementing the climate and environment agendas, as well as for development cooperation in general./.