Vietnam PM Joins Int’l Video Conference on Climate Change

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung joined an international video conference on Dec. 2 to discuss initiatives for the UN summit on climate change in Copenhagen slated to be held this month. United Nations General Secretary Ban Ki-moon, Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rassmussen, Australia Kevin Rudd, Mexican President Felipe Calderon, Ethiopian President Meles Zenawi and Algerian Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia also attended the conference. Addressing the event, Dung praised important initiatives to protect the earth’s climate and efforts of the Danish PM in preparation for the summit, state media reported. Vietnam applauded a proposal to set up a $10 billion global fund in the period of 2010-2013 to assist developing countries heavily affected by climate change, Dung said. Developed countries should make strong pledges to cut carbon emissions and have supportive policies of capital, technology transfers and capacity improvement for the countries, he added. The Vietnamese leader also proposed to set up a global coordinating organization to boost the implementation of pledges to be made at the summit. He called for more assistance from the international community, especially developed countries and foreign organizations, for helping Vietnam deal with climate change impacts.