A traffic jam during rush hour in Thanh Xuân District in Hà Nội. Vehicle emission is one of Việt Nam's biggest source of pollution. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The Steering Committee of the project 'Support to Việt Nam for the Implementation of the Paris Agreement' (VN-SIPA) held its second meeting in Hà Nội yesterday with the participation of representatives from ministries, sectors, and localities.

Addressing the meeting, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Lê Công Thành highlighted the project’s support in implementing Việt Nam’s nationally determined contributions (NDC) and the Paris Agreement on climate change.

To speed up the project, he asked participants to make proposals and discuss the 2021 plan, especially activities relating to State management of climate change and enhancing Việt Nam’s role and responsibility as a signatory to the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Weert Borner, Deputy Ambassador of Germany in Việt Nam, noted Việt Nam was one of the first countries to build an action plan to realise the Paris Agreement and one of the first to submit and update its NDC.

He said the VN-SIPA supports Việt Nam in creating the necessary conditions for the deal, to mitigate the impacts of climate change and bring environmental and socio-economic benefits for the country.

Phạm Văn Tấn, Vice Director of the Climate Change Administration at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, said as COVID-19 is still a major issue, ministries and localities should prepare alternative measures and speed up the implementation of approved plans.

Kia Fariborz, Chief Advisor of the VN-SIPA project, said last year, Việt Nam completed and updated its NDC report in September, a move lauded by the international community as it was one of the first 20 countries to do so.

The four-year VN-SIPA project was approved by former Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc on April 3, 2019, and has a total cost of 10.3 million euros (US$12.31 million), funded by non-refundable official development assistance (ODA) from Germany. It aims to strengthen the legal framework and national capacity in implementing the Paris Agreement, with the core conducting Việt Nam’s NDC.

So far, it has assisted in the building of a climate change programme in the revised Law on Environmental Protection 2020 as well as climate change management documents and sectoral plans for climate change response. It has defined solutions in the central provinces of Quảng Bình and Hà Tĩnh based on their local ecosystems. — VNS