Int’l community offers aid to Vietnam’s climate effort
Wednesday, 16 December 2009
The UN
lauded Vietnam’s efforts in coping with climate change as exemplary while
Luxembourg promised further aid to help the country adapt to climate change as a
result of Copenhagen talks.
The Director of the UN
Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest
Degradation in Developing Countries (UN-REDD), Yern Katerere, made the praise
at a workshop held in the Danish capital on December 14 (local time) as part of
the Climate Change talks.
The workshop was held by Vietnam to
present to the international community this raging problem as well as policies,
strategies and actions made by the country to adapt itself to and reduce
climate change impact.
The event was a very good move by Vietnam to help
other countries better understand the real situation as well as measures taken
by the country to cope with climate change, said the UN expert.
He also urged other developing countries to grasp
this opportunity to learn from Vietnam
’s rich experiences in reducing emissions through its efforts against
deforestation and forest degradation.
The same day, Minister of Natural Resources and
Environment Pham Khoi Nguyen met the Luxembourg Minister of Cooperation,
Development and Humanitarian Issues, Marie Josee Jabobs.
Vietnam is at risk of losing up to 40 percent of land in the
Mekong Delta, its rice bowl, due to climate change, said Nguyen.
He added to secure food security in Vietnam also
means food security for the world as the country has met the needs of not only
its 87 million population but also some 100 million people in other countries.
In response, Marie made commitments to further aid
to Vietnam
in coping with climate change.
Luxembourge is willing to give Vietnam part of its
aid to developing countries in climate change combat, which is to make up 1
percent of the European country’s gross budget, she concluded./.