A submerged forest near sea

The EU Delegation to Vietnam and embassies of some EU countries held a press conference on climate change in Hanoi on September 21. The event was part of the European Climate Diplomacy Week in the country from September 19-25. 

Ambassador and head of the EU Delegation to Vietnam Bruno Angelet said the EU has assisted the Vietnamese Government to build a report on intended nationally determined contributions (INDC) which will be sent to the Secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. It is also helping the country to achieve those INDCs. 

The bloc is working with Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment in green growth and with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to reform the energy industry with non-refundable aid of 350 million EUR, he noted. 

Belgian Ambassador Jehanne Roccas said her country’s Government is working with Vietnam to deal with climate change through policy dialogues among specialists on laws, policies and activities. The two countries will begin a cooperation programme on climate change and the environment worth 85 million EUR in 2019. 

The Dutch Government has assisted Vietnam’s universities to promote research on climate change and sustainable development, Dutch Ambassador Nienke Trooster said, noting that the countries have also cooperated in water resources management, agriculture and food. 

The Netherlands is funding 10 million EUR for a clean water supply project in Ho Chi Minh City, she added. 

A 50-million-EUR loan from Germany’s KfW Development Bank is financing a wind power plant in Vietnam. The factory is set to be inaugurated this November and help reduce 28,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions every year, according to the German Embassy. 

At the press conference, representatives of the embassies of Demark, Finland, France, Italy, the UK and Spain also gave information about ongoing and future cooperation projects on climate change with the Southeast Asian nation. 

They said as Vietnam is among the 10 countries most vulnerable to climate change, it should become a low-carbon economy.

VNA