High-level conference on climate change

On 10 October 2018, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), organized a high-level dialogue on climate change, with the participation of policymakers and representatives from development partners, the private sector, civil society organizations, and the media. The meeting was co-chaired by Deputy Prime Minister, Trinh Dinh Dung, and the Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Hoesung Lee. It was held to introduce the recently published “Special Report of the IPCC on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C and related global greenhouse gas emission related pathways”.

The IPCC scientists and development partners expressed the urgent need to accelerate efforts to tackle climate change in light of new academic insights, which clearly show that the previous target under the Paris Agreement – to keep global warming to around 2°C as compared to pre-industrial levels – does not go far enough.

Caitlin Wiesen, UNDP Country Director, said,

“A ‘climate doi moi’ is needed as fundamental as the economic ‘doi moi’ that Viet Nam adopted 40 years ago.”

She added that such change would be necessary to bring about rapid reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and boost green jobs for a more resilient sustainable society. According to Trần Thục, Deputy Chairman of the Viet Nam Panel on Climate Change, most emission cuts would have to come from the energy sector as the majority of the country’s emissions came from electricity production. “Viet Nam is working on the Power Development Plan VIII which will focus on bringing down the amount of thermal power and increase renewable energy,” he said.