Vietnam Approves Foreign-supported Climate Change Program

Vietnam’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has approved a range of contents for climate change response in 2016 with the support of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD). The contents for 2016 are part of components of a foreign-supported climate change response program called Support Program to Respond to Climate Change (SP-RCC) for the 2009-2020 period. The program includes three phases, including the 2009-2012 period, the 2013-2015 period, and the 2016-2020 period, focusing on making policies, intensifying investment, and improving capacity in cope with climate change. Vietnamese authorities and foreign supporters will discuss measures to reduce gas emissions among motorbikes and greenhouse gas emissions in cement plants. Vietnam’s total greenhouse emissions are predicted to reach 466 million tons of CO2-equivalents in 2020. The country could reduce as much as 1.5 million tons of CO2-equivalents by 2020 and 10 million tons by 2030 if it successfully develops wind energy development projects, the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade said. (Dangcongsan.vn July 29, Vietnam News July 29 p3)