Vietnam shows its active role in responding to climate change

After hiatus of nearly two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this trip by the Prime Minister will set out a number of important goals, with many activities being launched both on multilateral forums and bilateral meetings, alongside meetings with the Vietnamese community and businesses.

PM Chinh's attendance at the COP26 Leaders Summit therefore shows the strong determination and efforts of the Vietnamese Government to both promote and implement international commitments, especially on global issues. These moves are capturing special attention from the international community which indicates that the country is an active member, along with being a reliable and responsible partner, Ambassador Long said.

This also represents an opportunity for the nation to step up co-operation with bilateral partners, international organisations, and other multilateral partners. This can be done whilst seeking out opportunities to receive financial and technological support and strengthen capacity building for climate change response in the country.

Upon mentioning the main activities during PM Chinh's trip, Ambassador Long said that during his three-day business trip to Scotland, the Vietnamese Government chief  will participate in a broad array of important activities, including attending the COP26 Leaders Summit and high-level bilateral meetings. These will all be done alongside leaders of other countries, along with taking part in several other sidelines activities at the event.

Prior to the opening day of the Summit, PM Chinh is set to have a meeting with the Vietnamese community in the UK. This represents an important activity as it demonstrates the Party and State’s consistent guidelines and policies on firmly reinforcing great national unity, thereby strongly promoting the strength of the whole nation for national development.

PM Chinh and his delegation will also spend plenty of time on promotion activities, such as stepping up investment and trade co-operation between the two countries, attending the launching ceremony of a direct route between the nation and the UK, and a signing ceremony to announce the airline's Bamboo Airways’ general agent. This is along with witnessing a ceremony to hand over co-operation agreements between agencies and businesses from both sides.

He will also attend a conference aimed at introducing Vietnamese investment and business environment, whilst holding a range of working sessions with major British and international firms as a mean of consolidating confidence and attracting greater investment capital from financiers, businesses, and international partners.

During the course of the trip, the Vietnamese cabinet leader is scheduled to hold a meeting with Pascal Soriot, CEO of the pharmaceutical multinational company AstraZeneca, and attend a signing ceremony of co-operation agreements between the pharmaceutical company and Vietnamese partners.

This marks an important activity aimed at bolstering co-operation in the transfer of drug and vaccine production technology between the firm and Vietnam and moves towards ensuring the autonomy in drugs and vaccines, which can be considered as a premise for the nation to restore production and stabilise people’s life.

Touching upon Vietnamese commitments and efforts in responding to climate change, Ambassador Long said the nation has been one of the countries hardest hit by climate change, especially in the Mekong Delta region. Therefore, the nation is strongly resolved and committed to responding to the impact of climate change.

Last year saw the country submit an updated version of the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

“Vietnam is one of the first 20 countries in the world to submit and is one of the few nations to increase its contribution to greenhouse emission reduction in the updated NDC.

Despite facing plenty of economic difficulties, it can be said that the nation has been performing well its international obligations in this field in order to contribute to the world's joint efforts to respond to climate change.

Vietnam's efforts to implement the UNFCCC have been recognized at international forums and the country is considered as one of the pioneer countries in carry out commitments to cope with climate change,” Ambassador Long stated.

With regard to co-operation between the nation and the UK in climate change and co-operation plans for the future, the local diplomat said that in 2010, both sides signed a strategic partnership agreement which served to take mutual relations to new heights.

As part of this agreement, sustainable development, including climate change response, is viewed as a key area of co-operation. The two nations duly launched a range co-operation programmes and projects on climate change, with a primary focus on conducting dialogues, policy exchanges, and basic research as the basis for policy formulation and the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

The UK is also fully committed supporting the Vietnamese climate-resilient and low-carbon economic growth strategy, thereby transitioning to renewable energy, transferring science-technology, and green finance with a view to helping the country continue to access international funding for its climate change response.

In addition to bilateral co-operation, the two sides have also co-ordinated at international forums through their participation in and implementation of the UNFCCC, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and other international conferences and commitments.

For the UK, the nation is known as a country heavily impacted by climate change, but also one with great potential to transition to clean energy through the phasing out coal power and increasing production and use of renewable energy, especially wind power and solar energy.

Many British energy groups have shown a keen interest in investing in the field of renewable energy in the Vietnamese market, including an offshore wind power projects, which is one of the strengths of the UK. Indeed, it is currently leading the way in the world in offshore wind power with a capacity of approximately 10GW.

This comes as the UK Government has pledged to quadruple capacity by 2030, generating enough energy to supply every family in the country, Ambassador Long said.

Moving forward, the two sides pledged to continue ramping up co-operation and dialogue on climate change response and mitigation at a technical level. They will therefore augment co-operation in the field of sustainable consumption and the building of a circular economy.

The nation strongly desires the British Government to continue supporting it with finance, technology, and experience in transitioning to a low-carbon economy and improving its ability to adapt to climate change, especially in areas increasingly affected by this issue and rising sea levels.

The Prime Minister's trip can be viewed as being of great significance, conveying a message to the British people and businesses about Vietnamese efforts in implementing its commitments to cope with climate change. It is also a chance to showcase Vietnamese policies aimed at attracting investment in areas of co-operation towards building a green economy moving forward, Ambassador Long concluded.