Illustrative image (Source: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – Experts recommended Vietnam invest more in climate change adaptation at an international workshop in Hanoi on October 24 on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s achievements and Vietnam actions in climate change.
Speaking at the event, Vo Tuan Nhan, Vice Minister of Natural Resources and Environment affirmed Vietnam recognizes that response to climate change and disaster prevention is vital for the country's sustainable development. He added that the country has promulgated and implemented a number of strategies and policies on climate change, disaster prevention, sustainable development and green growth.
The UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam, Pratibha Mehta, noted that Vietnam was severely affected by climate extremes.
“Women, children, the elderly and ethnic minorities are among the most vulnerable groups and every effort is needed to help build their resilience,” she said. “The right policies, capacity and knowledge are continuously needed in order to take measures to reduce climate risks. Without that, sustainable development is not possible in Vietnam”.
IPCC and Vietnamese data show that Vietnam is at risk from storms, extreme rainfall and river floods, as well as droughts and saline water intrusion, she said, noting that there are numerous communities exposed to these extremes, and women and children are particularly vulnerable, in the coastal region, the deltas and the mountains.
“So it is critical that Vietnam invests in adaptation,” Pratibha Mehta said.
She went on to say that IPCC and Vietnamese data demonstrate how difficult it will be for the world to attain the Paris Agreement temperature targets, and stressed that means Vietnam must make a serious effort to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, as it demonstrates in its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution, the INDC.
According to Pratibha Mehta, the quality of Vietnamese research needs to be improved, so that researchers publish more frequently in international peer reviewed journals and increase the impact of Vietnamese scientific findings on IPCC reports.
The IPCC - the world body for assessing the science related to climate change, presented its findings with a focus on Vietnam and its work programme for the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) cycle.
IPCC Chair Housung Lee said the AR6 would build on the good picture of climate change and impacts globally delivered by the IPCC’s last major report, the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), completed in 2014.
“For the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), we would like to see the research community tackle local questions and provide us with scientific literature that can feed into the assessments. We also hope that Vietnam and other developing countries will nominate more scientists as IPCC authors across the range of topics that we assess,” he said .
According to Hans-Otto Pörtner, Co-Chair of Working Group II of the IPCC, continued high emissions will increase the risks for Vietnam, which is vulnerable to a range of impacts including sea-level rise and extreme climate events.
On this occasion, Vietnam also presented the draft of 2016 climate change and sea-level rise scenarios for the country and Plan for Implementation of the Paris Agreement.
The workshop on “IPCC achievements and Vietnam actions in climate change” was organised by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the IPCC.-VNA
