The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) International Forum on Climate Change
opened in Ha Long city, the northern province of Quang Ninh, on
September 6, aiming at strengthening international cooperation in
response to climate change.
The two-day forum,
organised by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE),
has attracted more than 150 delegates from Australia, Denmark, Germany,
India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Netherlands, Spain,
the UK and host Vietnam.
Speaking at the forum,
MoNRE Deputy Minister Tran Hong Ha emphasised the serious impacts of
climate change which are posing real risks for Vietnam ’s poverty
reduction and sustainable development as well as its implementation of
millennium development goals (MDGs).
Therefore, the
Vietnamese government has ratified and joined the UN Frame Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol (KP), he said.
The government has issued many documents and instructions on
activities to deal with climate change and entrusted the MoNRE to
coordinate these activities, he added.
Based on
domestic and foreign studies, in early 2009, the MoNRE finished the
building of scenarios on climate change in Vietnam , especially
rising sea levels. Scenarios will be updated in late 2010 and the
updating will be conducted regularly until 2100.
The
forum will discuss such issues as the vulnerability and adaptation to
impacts of climate change, opportunities and challenges for low carbon
economies and ASEM cooperation as part of global efforts. Participants
are expected to put forth recommendations and initiatives for closer
ASEM cooperation in dealing with the problem.
Ha
stated that the forum is one of the activities to realise the
government’s master plan and action plan on Vietnam-EU relations by 2010
with orientations to 2015, especially in the field of natural resources
and environment./.
