Deputy PM receives IPCC Chairman

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung receives Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Hoesung Lee,  Ha Noi, October 10, 2018

At the reception, Mr. Hoesung Lee said that the Paris Agreement on climate change was adopted at the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 21) with a view to cap the increase in global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial level and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The IPCC was then invited to build the “Global Warming of 1.5 Degrees Celsius” report, a special report on the impact of global warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways. The report was reviewed by competent parties in the Republic of Korea on October 8, he said.

Following the meeting in the RoK, Viet Nam was chosen as the first country to be introduced to this special report. Lee believed that its scientific research will help Viet Nam, as well as other countries vulnerable to climate change, draw up rational plans in response to climate change and its effects.

He recommended that Viet Nam shift into a low-carbon economy, with a focus on the development of renewable energies. The Vietnamese Government should encourage the involvement of enterprises in managing climate change-related risks, he suggested.

In turn, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung spoke highly of the IPCC and Lee’s contribution towards strengthening global climate change response, Deputy PM Dung said that the IPCC’s recommendations have been turned into definitive actions to fight climate change in Viet Nam.

The country has now approved plans for the implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change, as well as fully implemented the treaties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, he said.

In the past few years, the Advisory Council for the National Committee on Climate Change, comprised of leading scientists, have made scientific reports on elements of extreme weather and climate change, as well as helped build strategies and policies on climate change in Viet Nam.

As a country badly hit by climate change, Viet Nam has been active in performing international commitments and building plans to respond to climate change. However, Viet Nam cannot work alone and the country wants others worldwide and relevant organisations to take a firm hold of their responsibilities too, he stressed.

He asked the IPCC to share its experience with Viet Nam in monitoring damage caused by climate change in the future.

                                                                                                                    By Vien Nhu