Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has asked related agencies to urgently complete and publish the latest scenarios on climate change and rising sea level for likely affected localities, the state-run Vietnam News Agency said Feb 16. The PM made the request at the second meeting of the National Steering Committee on the National Target Program (NTP) on Climate Change in Hanoi on Feb. 16 to discuss orientations and plans for the program’s implementation in the 2011-2015 period. During their discussions, participants agreed to focus on drafting legal documents in adapting to climate change while reviewing the contents of the NTP. They also agreed on the demand to have international donors involved in the program's activities and management unit, with specific tasks assigned to each locality and agency. The PM emphasized the significance of building the comprehensive strategy on climate change, a matter of life or death of the nation, adding that it will guide us developing action plans to ensure the NTP is carried out successfully. All sectors and localities were asked to take advantage of their internal resources while mobilizing external support to invest in projects to deal with the issue. He also requested the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to join hands with other ministries and sectors to specify activities that must be urgently undertaken to cope with the negative impact of climate change, including mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Vietnam is listed among five hardest-hit countries by climate change. If sea level rises one meter, 5% of its land, 11% of its population and 7% of its agricultural land would be affected with the losses estimated at 10% of GDP. To proactively respond to these threats, Vietnam ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol in 2008. The country has received over $1.2 billion from international community for 21 project and programs on climate change and other 11 projects totaling nearly $1.3 billion are under negotiation process. (Vietnam News Feb 17 p1, news.gov.vn Feb 16, Nhan Dan – The People Feb 17 p1)
