Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha has promised that Vietnam will successfully implement commitments in greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction and climate change mitigation. 

The Paris Agreement on climate change, which will be effective in November this year, is an important milestone ahead of the 22 nd Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 22) in Morocco . 

This is a good start for global efforts in GHG emission mitigation after 2020, he said at the Assembly Meeting of the Partnership for Market Readiness (PMR) in Hanoi on October 18. The event provides support for stakeholders to prepare and implement climate change mitigation policies, including carbon-pricing instruments, in order to scale up GHG mitigation. 

As a party to the convention, Vietnam has made specific commitments to the important joint effort, he said at the event, which is part of preparations for Vietnam’s national dialogue on the National Climate Change Strategy and the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC). 

Despite the fact that Vietnam is a developing country facing many difficulties and challenges caused by climate change, the country has pledged in its INDC 8 percent reduction of GHG emission in 2030 and 25 percent in the future, noted the minister. 

He affirmed that the targets will continue to be evaluated and adjusted to suit the country’s socio-economic situation in particular periods. 

Meanwhile, John Roome, Senior Director for Climate Change of the World Bank lauded Vietnam ’s endeavors in low carbon development and climate change response. He vowed that the WB will continue backing Vietnam in the work. 

He stressed the need for closer cooperation among countries in carbon pricing policies for effective GHG emission reduction. 

At the event, the WB introduced the Carbon Pricing Watch 2016, an advance brief from the state and trends of carbon pricing 2016 report. The document revealed that the strengthening of carbon trading will help reduce emissions with a large scale with lower cost. 

The strengthening of cooperation through carbon trading is expected to cut down 30 percent of cost for climate change relief until 2030. Till middle of this century, international carbon market will help reduce 50 percent of expense for the work globally. 

The World Bank also held that it is difficult to reach the goal of keeping temperature rise at maximum two degrees at a low cost without strengthening carbon trading. 

The PMR, which brings together 30 countries and various international organisations, is a forum for collective innovation and action and a fund to support capacity building to scale up climate change mitigation. It provides an important platform for countries to engage in technical discussions on market instrument and foster collective action toward GHG mitigation.

VNA