Hanoi (VNA)꧒ – Vietnam’s active participation in and strong commitments to the fight against climate change at the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 21) were highly valued by many countries, practically contributing to the success of the historic event.

According to Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha, who was head of the Vietnamese negotiating delegation at the event, Vietnam made careful preparations for its participation in the COP 21, which took place from November 30-December 11 in Paris, France. Pham Van Tan, Deputy General Director of the Department of Hydrometeorology and Climate Change, said Vietnam’s delegation attended unofficial meetings, group meetings, consultations, plenary meetings and a summit to contribute opinions to each draft of the Paris Agreement , thus ensuring Vietnam’s right in building the document. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung delivered a speech at the summit, highlighting Vietnam’s contributions to building the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions ( INDC) report and the Green Climate Foundation. PM Dung, his Dutch counterpart Mark Ruttle and Deputy Director of the World Bank (WB) Laura Tusk co-chaired a high-level dialogue on responding to climate change in the Mekong Delta region , which saw the participation of representatives from over 30 countries and international organisations worldwide. The dialogue proposed cooperation mechanisms and appropriate solutions to cope with climate change and promote socio-economic development in the region. The Vietnamese leader had bilateral meetings with leaders from 24 countries and four international organisations, including the WB, UNESCO, the Global Environment Faculty (GEF) and the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) , during which he reiterated Vietnam’s consistent policy of promoting and enhancing the friendship and intensive and practical cooperation with the countries. He expressed his thanks for the countries’ support for Vietnam’s sustainable development over the past time, and called for their continued assistance to Vietnam during its cause of national construction and development in the time ahead. PM Dung emphasised Vietnam’s strong commitment and determination to join international efforts to address climate change. He announced that Vietnam will donate 1 million USD to the Green Climate Fund from 2016-2020. He affirmed that Vietnam will keep its commitment to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 8 percent by 2030 and by up to 25 percent with international support. From December 2-8, the Vietnamese delegation coordinated with donors such as the United Nations Development Programme, Denmark, GIZ and KOICA to successfully organise the event “Vietnam Pavilion” with 11 subjects drawing concern from many countries, focusing on the INDC report on climate change , the Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA), Biennial Update Reports (BURs), National Communications (NCs), the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), Adaptation, experience from countries in implementing Low Emission Development Strategies (LEDS), national system of reporting and verification ( MRV ) and Forest Reference Levels (RFLs) for implementing REDD+. The delegation also hosted workshops and exhibitions featuring Vietnam’s achievements in adapting to climate change, and the country’s land and people. The COP21, one of the largest global conferences this year, adopted a new global legal framework on climate change in the post-2020 period – the Paris Agreement 2015. Under the agreement, all parties are expected to commit to cutting emissions to curb the global average temperature rise to below 2 degree Celsius by the end of the 21st century.-VNA