Vietnam gives the highest priority to preventing climate change

Threats to sustainable development

Speaking on the opening day of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP26) in Glasgow (Scotland), Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said: “Climate change has truly become the biggest challenge that humanity has to face. In order to prevail over the global battle against climate change, unity is the only answer. Vietnam will consider this a priority task, the highest ethical standard of all levels, industries, businesses, and people”.

Despite being a developing country that has only begun to industrialize over the past three decades, Vietnam is determined to develop and implement stronger measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions using the country’s own resources along with the cooperation and support of the international community, both in terms of finance and technology transfer. This includes the implementation of mechanisms under the Paris Agreement with the goal to achieve the net-zero emissions rate by 2050.

Vietnam is one of the countries most affected by climate change, but making great efforts to both respond to climate change and develop its economy in order to ensure a better life for the people. Vietnam wishes to strengthen cooperation with international partners in investment and sustainable development programs and projects in the coming time.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's speech was highly appreciated by many international friends and partners. They also expressed the willingness to cooperate with Vietnam in implementing measures to promote green growth, circular economy as well as supporting communities, especially vulnerable groups, to increase resilience and adaptation to unusual and extreme weather events caused by the impacts of climate change.

The pressure from the transformation in response to climate change

Vietnam Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan said that Vietnam is under pressure to transform agricultural growth models while facing the challenge of climate change.

Minister Le Minh Hoan discussed with UK investors at the event: "We have devised many plans to develop climate-resilience agricultural production, including the crop varieties conversion to adapt to water scarcity, saline intrusion and the transformation of animal husbandry. We choose the path of adaptation instead of rigidly fighting against climate change”.

Minister Le Minh Hoan expected that the world leaders through the COP26 summit would make a strong commitment to safeguarding the Earth, particularly with projects and programs to protect the most vulnerable deltas from the impacts of climate change.

"Vietnam's resources are limited, so we require a lot of cooperation and assistance to realize our goal of protecting the Mekong Delta," said Mr. Hoan.

Due to the impact of climate change, the occurrence frequency of extreme weather events is wider and thicker in Vietnam at present. Drought continues to appear in the Mekong Delta and the Central region in 2019 and 2020 with a larger scale and more intensity in comparison to 2016. The Mekong Delta, where resides the rich rice and seafood crop and is home to about 20 million people, is suffering heavy consequences in recent years.