Climate change may cause damages worth more than 10% of gross domestic product (GDP) of Vietnam in 2100, said Dr. Leocadio Sebastian, Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) regional program leader for Southeast Asia. Natural disasters would affect more than 12% of the arable land and 25% of the population in the Southeast Asian country, Mr. Sebastian said. Climate change is likely to cause a fall of 8% in Vietnam’s rice output by 2030 and 15% by 2050. He said that the country currently suffers a loss equal to 1.5% of GDP from natural disasters annually. Vietnam has made efforts, including international support, in dealing with climate change. Since 2009, foreign countries and organizations funded the country roughly $1 billion to help it conduct climate change response programs. (Thoi Bao Tai Chinh Nov 21 p7)
