UN Pledges to Help Vietnam Improve Climate Change Adaptation Capacity

The UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam Kamal Malhotra said that the organization will continue long-term cooperation with the Vietnamese government to help the country improve its adaptive capacity, state media reported Tuesday. Mr. Malhotra made the statement in an interview with the state-run Vietnam News Agency on the sidelines of a conference on natural disaster prevention held in Hanoi on April 17. The UN is willing to assist Vietnam in risk management from central to local levels, in policy making, and improvement of transparency and accountability, Mr. Malhotra said. Improving adaptive capacity plays a crucial role in recovering after natural disasters, he said. He noted that the UN will set up a joint working group on disaster risk mitigation and resilience enhancement to support Vietnam under the UN One Strategic Plan 2017-2021. The expert said that stronger investment in upgrading disaster risk management systems and improved forecasting and warning capacity among authorized agencies will help Vietnam save expenses and human resources in the future. According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), calamities cause losses equal to 1% of Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) annually. The expenses required for climate change adaptation activities may cost a sum equivalent to 3% of the country’s GDP by 2030. (Vietnam Plus April 18)