A rice field in An Tinh commune of Hoai An district, the central province of Binh Dinh, dries up in July (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuchas joined other leaders around the globe in voicing their support for anemergency declaration for nature and people ahead of the 74th session of the UNGeneral Assembly this September.
The Vietnamese PM raised his voice in a shortvideo screened at the “Leaders for Nature and People” event in New York city,the US, on September 23. The event gathered state leaders, members of royalfamilies, corporate leaders and influential persons worldwide.
In his message, PM Phuc emphasised that Vietnamhas been exerting efforts to join hands with the world in shifting towards agreen and circular economy. It resolutely does not exchange the environment foreconomic growth that will affect sustainable development.
The country always puts climate change response,natural resources management and environmental protection in an importantposition in its resolutions on and orientations for development, he affirmed.
According to the World Wide Fund for Nature(WWF) – an organiser of the “Leaders for Nature and People” event, the planetis in a crisis. Since 1970, wildlife populations have declined on average by 60percent, while humanity’s impact and overexploitation of natural resources havegrown exponentially. The consequences for people can be seen already throughincreasing fires, floods and extreme weather. Science shows that without urgentaction, they will only get worse.
In 2020, many international treaties, includingthe Sustainable Development Goals and the climate treaty, will bere-negotiated. The WWF and other organisations have called for a new deal fornature and people.
Vietnam is one of the countries most vulnerableto climate change – a factor that has been making the threats to itsenvironment like habitat loss, biodiversity loss and unsustainable exploitationof natural resources increasingly serious, according to the communicationcentre for natural resources and environment under the Ministry of NaturalResources and Environment.
The emergency declaration for nature and people,expected to be signed by heads of states at the 75th session of the UN GeneralAssembly in New York in September 2020, will reflect a strong politicalcommitment to the ambitious goals on climate, biodiversity and oceans, as wellas to the Sustainable Development Goals./.
VNA
