Vietnamese young people participate in a tree planting project. Photo by Baochinhphu.

The event was livestreamed on fan pages of VTV3, the UN in Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union.

Environmental issues represent a clear challenge for Vietnam. At the 24th UN Conference on Climate Change (COP24), Germanwatch released the most up-to-date Climate Risk Index ranking, which analyses the extent to which each country has been affected by weather-related loss events. Vietnam ranks the sixth most affected country globally.

Those issues are a particular concern of young people around the world, including Vietnamese young people who realize that to enable a better Vietnam for future generations that it is crucial they take action.

Opening the event, Nguyen Ngoc Luong, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union/ Vice chair of the National Committee on Youth of Vietnam emphasised: “All members of the Youth Union at all levels as well as young people need to raise awareness among their communities on climate change, environmental protection, and negative impact of plastic bags and waste through modern communication channels and on social media. It is necessary to strengthen the capacity, knowledge and skills of the Youth Union, and other youth organizations on environment protection and how to cope with climate change, to pilot and popularize models of environmental protection and adaptability to climate change, and to promote innovative green startups and green business ideas. ”

Addressing the event, UNESCO Representative in Vietnam/Co-chair of the UN Youth Working Group, Michael Croft said: “Today’s young people have a unique stake in the global dialogue on climate change and you are making your voices heard in the most inspiring ways. Increasing ambition and implementing national climate strategies would simply not be possible without meaningful youth participation. Young people have to be involved in every single step to ensure that the process incorporates youth considerations and innovations to protect future generations.”

Climate change threatens our lives, our families and our future. We, the youth delegates in Vietnam will not sit back and watch. We already face the effects of climate change. We are prepared to give all we have as long as there is the possibility of saving our planet. As our efforts alone will not be enough, we need our leaders and fellow citizens to cooperate with us. I hope that our ideas will soon be incorporated into the Government’s policies and programmes to address the current challenges and build a future free from climate change and environment issues,” said Nguyen Quynh Duyen, a youth representative who attended the event.

On International Youth Day 2020, Vietnamese youth call for everyone to participate in keeping our environment clean and safe from pollution and to practice sustainable, eco-friendly lifestyles. In this regard, a list of key suggestions relating to climate change and sustainable development was handed to the leaders of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and UN representatives for consideration. Dtinews

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