Caitlin Wiesen, UNDP Resident Representative in Việt Nam, speaks at the Youth4Climate Conference, in Hà Nội on Thursday. — VNS Photo Kiều Vân

HÀ NỘI — Youth Union members and young people, as Việt Nam's future leaders, play an important role to implement the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) targets, said Phạm Văn Tấn, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Climate Change under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE).

He was speaking at the Youth4Climate Conference, in Hà Nội on Thursday which marked the beginning of the Youth4Climate Initiative in Việt Nam.  

Organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Việt Nam, MONRE and the Hồ Chí Minh Communist Youth Union, participants at the event heard the report ‘Youth for Climate Action in Việt Nam’, which was fully led and co-written by 20 outstanding young people that was made last December.

The report depicted the bottlenecks young people have faced in undertaking climate action as well as accelerators they identified to fast track their contributions to the NDC implementation and the transition to a greener and low-carbon Việt Nam in four key areas: climate mitigation, climate adaptation, nature-based solutions, and climate policies.

Nguyễn Ngọc Lương, Secretary of the Hồ Chí Minh Communist Youth Union, said: “We are willing to introduce new creative initiatives that can attract the mass participation of youth and generate momentum for youth to respond to climate change as part of their self-awareness and continuous lifestyle.”

“Youth are the powerhouse for innovation and action, and it is our role, as UNDP Việt Nam, to help them reach capacity," Caitlin Wiesen, UNDP Resident Representative in Việt Nam, said.

“We are delighted to hear the key findings from the report, the first report entirely co-written by youth, in which they have provided their unique insights and perspectives to make climate action and the NDC more youth- responsive and youth-driven.”

At the event, Mai Hoàng, one of the report’s writers, said she believed Vietnamese young people would be successful in implementing the Roadmap for Youth4Climate Action, “with specific proposals to enhance youth capacity in mainstreaming the NDCs, with the right support from youths as well as the Government and other relevant organisations.”

The Youth4Climate Initiative aims to strengthen the capacity of existing youth representatives and networks to advance climate actions at national and international forums, through consistent and coordinated efforts and enhanced collaboration with the Government, UN agencies, development partners, private sector, and civil society organisations in future climate initiatives and policies.

The Youth4Climate Initiative is implemented under UNDP Climate Promise, a global programme through which UNDP is committed to supporting 115 countries in enhancing their NDCs, by 2020. — VNS