Vietnam

Jim Yong Kim said leaders in Hanoi are considering plans for up to 40 gigawatts of new coal power, believing it will be cheaper than solar, wind and other forms of renewables. “When I ask them about using renewables they say ‘we would but it’s too expensive’,” he said. Coal is 9 cents a kilowatt hour and the tariff for solar is 12-13 cents, but…

Furthermore, the province has constructed wood processing plants along with material areas while enhancing the win-win cooperation between enterprises and local people. It has piloted a project to allow State-owned businesses to manage protective forests and encouraged the growing of trees in families, residential clusters and urban areas. Thanks to these efforts, Lao Cai’s forest coverage rate increased to 53 percent in 2015…

The EU Delegation to Việt Nam and embassies of some EU countries held a press conference on climate change in Hà Nội on Wednesday. The event was part of the European Climate Diplomacy Week in the country from September 19-25. Ambassador and head of the EU Delegation to Việt Nam Bruno Angelet said the EU had assisted the Vietnamese Government to build a report on…

What are the negative impacts of severe weather on the power sector this year? Severe weather this year has seriously impacted the power sector. In recent years, the weather pattern has changed quite a lot. As a result, the tasks of preventing and dealing with natural calamities, and search and rescue of victims, have been incorporated into legislation. If in the past we only…

A new generation of Vietnamese engineers are being introduced to the concept of green infrastructure and bioengineering that can be used to reduce the vulnerability of infrastructure to climate change. This September, ICEM team led a group of professors and students from University of Transport and Communications (UTC) on a field visit to a bioengineering demonstration site in Thai Nguyen. The roadside slope, located at…

He thanked Canada for its financial assistance worth US$11.6 million, which was announced during the Canadian diplomat’s visit, to help Việt Nam fight against climate change. The President said he wished the Canadian Parliament would soon approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), creating conditions to promote high-standard free trade in the region. He proposed that the two countries expand people-to-people exchanges and co-operation in the areas…

“That we can quickly carry out the Paris agreement will help with our response to climate change in Việt Nam,” Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Trần Hồng Hà said. The groundbreaking Paris agreement was the first-ever universal, legally-binding climate deal adopted last year as the latest effort by the global community to tackle climate change. As one of the nations most affected by climate…

The Vietnam national report for Habitat III was introduced at the forum. This report reviews 20 years of achievements, identifies challenges and Vietnam’s strengthened political commitment for sustainable urban development. At the event, participants sought to enhance the effectiveness of urban planning and management, and relevant legal framework, better access to urban services such as housing, infrastructure facilities and financial resources. Poverty reduction, environmental protection…

In the context of climate change, Vietnam can turn challenges into advantages as the Mekong Delta will convert some rice growing areas into seafood breeding due to rising sea levels and increasing salinity, Vietnam's state-run news agency VNA quoted the minister as saying on Monday. Since the beginning of 2016, in Vietnam's Mekong Delta, the drought and decrease in groundwater levels have resulted in…

VFF President Nguyen Thien Nhan meets with RoK Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-Ahn on August 18 during his friendship visit to the RoK. VFF President Nguyen Thien Nhan meets with RoK Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-Ahn on August 18 during his friendship visit to the RoK. The VFF President said Vietnam needs help to address newly arising cyberspace problems. He said Vietnam is in the period of…

Climate change has directly affected several industries in Vietnam, including agriculture, fishing, commerce, and tourism, Dang Thi Bich Lien told the ‘Vietnam: Towards Sustainable Tourism in the Era of Climate Change’ conference in Hanoi on Thursday. The event was attended by various governmental departments and experts from the ESRT (Environmentally and Socially Responsible Tourism), a project funded by the European Union. “Rising sea level could…

The conference “Việt Nam: towards sustainable tourism in the year of global climate change” was co-organised by Việt Nam National Administration of Tourism and the Environmentally and Socially Responsible Tourism Capacity Development Programme funded by the European Union (ESRT). ESRT senior expert Peter Burns said at the conference that in Việt Nam’s tourism sector, provincial tourism departments have an awareness of climate change risk but…

Vietnam’s Mekong Delta is famous for its rice fields, shrimp ponds, embankments and canals. This fertile patchwork sustains the livelihoods of more than 17 million people. But climate change, water scarcity and pollution are fraying the fabric of economic life in the delta. New approaches to managing land and water in uncertain times are needed. The vulnerability of the Mekong Delta came into focus…

In China, it was believed that the changes to rivers predicted the rise and fall of dynasties. It’s a belief that became so ingrained, Emperors sacrificed vast resources to control rivers in the hope of staving off war or revolution. Similarly, governments in the Mekong are now attempting to harness the river’s power. The river serves the livelihoods of over 60 million people –…

Hoang Duc Cuong, Director of the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorology Forecasting (NCHMF), issued the forecast at a conference held late last week to review the national program on natural disaster and flood prevention, and prepare a plan for 2016-2020. This year, El Niño's weather pattern is expected to have a negative impact on natural disasters in the country, according to Cuong. Cuong also revealed…

In a statement (vn) released on 19th January, Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung stated the government’s intention to “review development plans of all new coal plants and halt any new coal power development”. In addition, the Premier stated that Vietnam needs to “responsibly implement all international commitments in cutting down greenhouse gas emissions; and to accelerate investment in renewable energy.” an implied reference…

Dressed in red, Madam Dam Thi Quyen, a 57-year-old mother of three grown-up children, sits by her shack on the road south of Can Tho city among the green rice paddies, shrimp farms and deep rivers of Vietnam's Mekong Delta. She has a problem, she says - her 1.5ha of rice fields are on the "wrong side of the dyke". "I have to…

In a statement yesterday, Vietnamese Foreign Minister Spokesman Le Hai Binh said that the ratification of the deal at the 2015 United National Climate Change Conference on Saturday night was also an important step in global efforts in dealing with climate change. "The world community needs to have strong political determination and effective co-operation to seriously and appropriately implement the Paris deal," Binh said…