HCMC – Vietnam needs to mobilize an additional US$35 billion to respond to climate change in the next decade, said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
At the online international Climate Adaptation Summit (CAS) 2021 held by the Netherlands on January 25, the Vietnamese Government leader said that despite great efforts, the country’s current economic capacity can meet only 30% of the demand for combating climate change, Tuoi Tre Online newspaper reported.
Meanwhile, the Covid-19 pandemic has caused great impacts and reduced resources for the fight against environmental challenges, PM Phuc added.
He also expressed his gratitude to the international community for supporting Vietnam to deal with environmental issues and expected to continue receiving their assistance.
To respond to the enormous impacts of climate change in 2020, Vietnam has restructured the economy and committed to enhancing its resistance and adaption capacity.
Solutions to adapt to climate change will be added in the national development plan, the prime minister noted.
According to Laurent Umans, first secretary in charge of water and climate change at the Netherlands Embassy in Vietnam, the CAS 2021 was held based on an idea to connect countries with investors and boost the public-private partnership in projects to respond to climate change.
After Covid-19, Vietnam should go ahead in a more sustainable manner by ensuring the fund for improving the public healthcare system and the resistance of vulnerable communities, Umans added.
Investments from the Government and the private sector will be a strong driving force for the improvement of activities to combat climate change and develop the economy.
The Law on Public-Private-Partnership Investment will create favorable conditions for the attraction of private investment for infrastructure development projects, while the State budget will remain limited, Umans said.
At the CAS 2021, leaders will approve an action plan to adapt to climate change with a vision to 2030. In addition, representatives of Governments, enterprises, scientific communities and non-Governmental organizations will discuss solutions to support cities to better adapt to climate change, make predictions about droughts and salinity intrusion in the agriculture sector and protect coastal lines in the context of the rising sea level.
The budget for activities to adapt to climate change is also a key issue at the event.
