HÀ NỘI — Reduction of greenhouse gas emission is the only viable path to mitigate climate change, a German official told a conference on the global climate change pact in Hà Nội on Tuesday.

Jörg Rüger, First Secretary for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Urban Development under the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, stressed that “This common goal requires significant transformation of our societies.”

“Through the process of updating Việt Nam’s national determined contributions and other projects, Germany continues its support of Việt Nam in this effort,” he added.

Plans to implement the Paris Agreement on climate change in the northern part of Việt Nam were the focus of the event jointly organised by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Nationally Determined Contributions Partnership (NDC-P) and Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB).

Besides, participants examined climate change scenarios and impacts on the northern region and the Red River Delta, and ways to mobilise financial resources to cope with climate change.

Speaking at the conference, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Võ Tuấn Nhân said that after approving the Paris Agreement on October 31 last year, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc assigned ministries, sectors and localities to develop specific plans and actively integrate climate change response into socio-economic investment and development schemes.

“At the same time, the PM asked the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to organise training conferences on the agreement’s implementation for localities in the north, central and southern regions,” he added.

“The ministry is also tasked with studying new models and approaches to tackle climate change,” he said.

Jenty Kirsch-Wood, a representative from the UNDP, said that the agency has launched some important projects to support the Vietnamese Government in implementing its action plan to realise the Paris Agreement.

“UNDP is committed to innovative measures that pave ways for new partnerships with stakeholders”, she said. “We would like to initiate work with the private sector to reduce the costs for Research & Development through the deployment of cutting edge technology that is adapted to Việt Nam’s unique conditions”.

The northern mountainous province of Bắc Kạn shared its experiences in coping with climate change and building a plan to carry out the Paris agreement.

The conference, the third of its kind, was held following similar events in the central region in July and the southern region on August 18.

The Paris Agreement, which was adopted during the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 21) in December 2015, entered into force on November 4 last year.

It is the first legally binding document on climate change that applies to all parties. — VNS