VietNamNet Bridge – In the context of the non-refundable aid decrease from developed economies, the implementation of NAMA (nationally appropriate mitigation action) would be a good solution for Vietnam to receive financial support and technology transfer.

Prof Dr. Tran Thuc, Director of the Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Environment, NAMA is considered a tool for developing countries to implement the measures to ease the impacts of the climate changes in the ways appropriate to their national conditions and to obtain sustainable development, with the financial and technical support from developed countries.

NAMA is a new program suggested by UNFCCC (the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) from Bali Action Plan in 2007.

The proposals to implement NAMA would be made by the nations to the UNFCCC’s secretariat for approval and supervision. More than 50 nations have registered NAMA projects to UNFCCC so far.

NAMAs are not only the necessary projects like the CDM (clean development mechanism) policies and programs, but also the way to help restructure the socio-economy which targets both goals – the greenhouse gas emission reduction and sustainable development.

Opportunities and challenges

According to Prof Thuc, the non-refundable aid to developing countries like Vietnam for the projects on greenhouse gas emission reductions and technology transfer has been decreasing. Meanwhile, a growing tendency in the world is that all the nations, including developing countries, need to make every effort to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions.

The building and implementation of NAMAs would open the opportunities to push up the global, multilateral and bilateral cooperation, through which developing countries like Vietnam can approach new mechanisms which are taking shape, to receive financial support and technology transfer from developed economies.

The biggest challenge for NAMA implementation is the awareness of people. Since NAMA is too unfamiliar, people’s awareness about this remains limited, while there has been no common concept about NAMA which could be accepted for all countries.

As a result, ministries and branches remain puzzled in designing the activities to reduce emissions. Meanwhile, Vietnam still lacks experiences and labor force to manage the greenhouse gas emission reduction programs.

The potentials great

In the second national report to the UNFCCC, Vietnam said it has defined the sectors it needs to focus on to implement in its program to reduce emissions and the detailed solutions.

The three major fields that Vietnam has advantages to focus on to reduce the emissions are the energy, agriculture and LULUCF (land use, land use change and forestry). 28 measures to reduce emissions have built up and assessed which are believed to help reduce 3270.7 million tons of equivalent CO2.

NAMA projects can also associate the National Strategy for Green Growth; National Strategy for responding to climate change (including the mitigation); national action program on "Reducing greenhouse gas emissions through efforts to limit deforestation and forest degradation, sustainable management of forest resources, conservation and improvement of forest carbon stocks for the period 2011 - 2020" (REDD + program).

The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment is compiling a legal document that guides the building of NAMA. There are five steps to take to design and prepare for a NAMA project, including the seeking of funding. The draft of the document would be submitted to the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment in December 2012.

Thien Nhien