Promoting bilateral cooperation to respond to climate change

(TN&MT) - On November 19, on the sidelines of the 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) in Azerbaijan, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Le Cong Thanh had a bilateral meeting with Ms. Rachel Kyte, Special Representative for Climate, Energy Security and Net-Zero of the UK Foreign Office.

Attending the meeting were representatives of the Government Office , the Ministry of Industry and Trade, leaders of units under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, including: Department of Climate Change, Department of International Cooperation, Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment, and Vietnam Geological Survey.

On November 19, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Le Cong Thanh had a bilateral meeting with Ms. Rachel Kyte, Special Representative for Climate, Energy Security and Net-Zero of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Minister Le Cong Thanh expressed his pleasure to meet Ms. Rachel Kyte at the COP29 Conference and thanked the UK for its bilateral cooperation activities and support for Vietnam in its efforts to respond to climate change in recent times. In particular, in the face of the huge damage caused by Typhoon Yagi in September 2024, the emergency aid worth £1 million from the UK Government has contributed to helping Vietnam overcome the consequences in the northern provinces and floods in the central region. This is a clear demonstration of the solidarity and effective cooperation between the two countries.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Vietnam and the UK Department for Foreign Affairs and Development signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the field of environment and climate change on October 24, 2024, and the focal agencies of the two countries will continue to develop a Plan to implement the MoU. Deputy Minister Le Cong Thanh hopes that Ms. Rachel Kyte can connect and mobilize resources to strongly implement cooperation on important contents identified in the MoU between the two sides, such as: responding to climate change, protecting biodiversity, developing carbon markets, promoting environmental protection goals and building a green economy.

Vietnam wishes to cooperate with the UK on climate change response

Regarding cooperation in the field of hydrometeorology, the two sides will continue to sign a Cooperation Agreement within the framework of the Weather and Climate Science Program for Service Partners (WCSSP) for the next phase; continue research activities on the impact of the Madden-Julian intraseasonal oscillation (MJO) and the Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on tropical cyclones in Vietnam, research on seasonal storm forecasting; strengthen coordination in testing the forecasting of extreme weather events using high-resolution forecasting models.

In addition, the Vietnam Meteorological and Hydrological Service continues to receive and use forecast results from the UK's numerical model for analysis of hazardous weather in Vietnam; coordinate research and development related to impact-based weather forecasting and warning for Vietnam; continue to participate in training courses within the framework of the WCSSP Program with in-depth content on hazardous weather and impact forecasting for the Southeast Asia region.

The Deputy Minister also shared that the Vietnamese Government has approved Vietnam’s updated National Climate Change Adaptation Plan for 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050 (NAP); and asked the UK to have a stronger voice in support of the realisation of contributions to the Loss and Damage Fund at COP29.

Welcoming Vietnam's efforts to respond to climate change in recent times, Ms. Rachel Kyte affirmed that hydrometeorology will continue to be an important area of cooperation between the two countries in the coming time.

Regarding the third round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC 3.0) updates, in February 2025, the UK will announce NDC 3.0 with higher greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, focusing on cooperation with developing countries, including Vietnam.

On the Vietnamese side, Deputy Minister Le Cong Thanh said that relevant agencies are developing NDC 3.0 and are expected to announce it by the end of 2025. Vietnam also hopes that the UK can support and share experiences in updating NDC, and especially in implementing NDC to ministries, sectors and localities.

At the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on the remaining issues at the COP29 conference to find common ground and promote reaching an agreement in the remaining days of negotiations.

Ms. Rachel Kyte shared that the UK has experience in implementing support through the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), with various international financial sources. However, the mechanism for mobilizing private resources from JETP participating countries, including Vietnam, needs to be clarified to attract domestic and foreign investors.

Deputy Minister Le Cong Thanh expressed his agreement with this view and emphasized that this is also an issue that the Vietnamese Government is concerned about and is making efforts to improve in the coming time, especially building a legal corridor with appropriate regulations to be able to take advantage of finance from many different sources.

In the coming time, the focal agencies of the two countries will continue to exchange and work to closely follow Vietnam's climate change response needs and propose appropriate cooperation activities.

Source: https://baotainguyenmoitruong.vn/viet-nam-vuong-quoc-anh-thuc-day-hop-tac-song-phuong-ung-pho-bien-doi-khi-hau-383351.html