(TN&MT) – On April 14, in Hanoi, the second meeting of the Steering Committee of the Project to support Vietnam in implementing the Paris Agreement (VN-SIPA) took place.
Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Le Cong Thanh – Head of the Project Steering Committee and Mr. Weert Börner, Deputy Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Vietnam chaired the meeting. Attending were Mr. Doan Ngoc Lam, Standing Vice Chairman of Quang Binh Provincial People’s Committee, representatives of Ha Tinh province, German Development Cooperation Organization (GIZ) and members of Steering Committees of Ministries: Natural Resources and Environment. , Planning and Investment, Transport, Agriculture and Rural Development, Construction.
The VN-SIPA project aims to strengthen the legal framework and national capacity to support the implementation of the Paris Agreement onclimate change, with a focus on the implementation of the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). . According to Deputy Minister Le Cong Thanh, international development partners are very interested in VN-SIPA because the project also acts as a focal point for information on climate change in Vietnam. The success of the Project will help support Vietnam in implementing the NDC and the Paris Agreement.
In 2020, due to the general impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic, many Project activities were unable to be implemented or implemented slowly. However, the project also achieved encouraging achievements, making an important contribution to Vietnam completing the updated NDC and submitting it to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in September/ 2020. This result has been recognized and appreciated by the international community because Vietnam is one of the first 20 countries to submit the updated NDC.
The project also supports the development of the Climate Change Response Chapter in the revised Law on Environmental Protection in 2020, which will serve as a basis for continuing to develop legal corridors to respond to climate change for Vietnam. At the same time, supporting the development of climate change management documents, sector plans on responding to climate change such as: Circular regulating fuel management and greenhouse gas emissions in the aviation industry; MARD’s Climate Change Action Plan, Update NDC Implementation Plan for the construction industry, develop a proposed Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA) in the field of construction and submitted to the NAMA Facility Secretariat.
In addition, the project helped identify ecosystem-based adaptation solutions in Quang Binh and Ha Tinh provinces.
Mr. Weert Börner, Deputy Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Vietnam recognized these results and highly appreciated the cooperation efficiency of Vietnamese ministries, branches and localities, especially the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment with the role of regulating distribute. The German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) has been very active in responding to the new needs and closely accompanied the project implementation.
The project has provided Vietnam with a solid foundation for an ambitious medium- and long-term climate policy, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, adapting to climate change with social co-benefits. society and the environment. In terms of implementation planning, it is crucial that NDC activities at all levels be reflected in provincial and national budgets. This will be a focus of SIPA project activities in 2021.
Sharing about activities in Quang Binh, Mr. Doan Ngoc Lam said that the VN-SIPA project has supported the province to build a number of climate change adaptation models in terms of afforestation, aquaculture and large-scale cattle raising. Thereby, helping to transform the community’s awareness and improve the capacity of environmental impact assessment organizations in responding to climate change.
In the coming time, the project will support the province to integrate climate change adaptation plans and programs for the period 2021 – 2030 with a vision to 2050 into the province’s socio-economic development planning, focusing on adaptation solutions. based on the ecosystem such as building a water reserve, a sustainable drainage model for the city, creating a green space for the building, a roof garden model…
At the meeting, the delegates discussed and shared difficulties and obstacles in the implementation of the project in 2020. At the same time, proposed measures to promote the project implementation progress, ensure that project objectives are achieved. Expected in the 2021 Plan, the Project focuses on activities to strengthen the legal framework for the implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change and to integrate the NDC into the sectoral strategies of the ministries; develop sector-level technical guidance and mitigation actions/NAMAs.