In the nearly 2 years that I have been here, I have seen an increasing level of awareness about climate change, and more actions in the area by the government and people of Vietnam.

Climate change is no longer seen as an issue of ice melting in the Arctic - it has been and will be affecting the lives of everyone in our world. Particularly Vietnam, with its low-lying coastal area and over 50% of population in the agriculture sector, which is highly prone to climate change impacts. According to a recent study released by the Asian Development Bank, it is very likely that by end of this century, the Mekong Delta will lose over 20% of its area, leaving thousands of people homeless and threatening the livelihoods of millions more.

Thankfully, the government and people here have chosen not to just wait for these things to happen.

A notable effort was the launch of the “National Target Programme to Respond to Climate Change” in late 2008.  It represented a great willingness by policy makers to set the direction and a framework for action on climate change. It shows that tackling climate change is now seen as a key national objective, which is led by top figures  – for example, the Steering Committee of the Programme will be led by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, with contributions by all Cabinet ministers. I discussed this with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and the Duke of York last week.

Recently, Vietnam produced very detailed scenarios of how climate change may affect the country. The analysis, supported by the Hadley Centre in the UK, is a valuable document for forecasting how climate change will affect the country, and for highlighting how each and every area should be designed to cope with the coming threat. Professor John Beddington, Chief Government Scientist discussed this with the Minister for Natural Resources and Environment in his visit earlier this month.

Despite being a relatively small emitter of greenhouse gases, Vietnam has undertaken various efforts to reduce its contribution to climate change. In 2006, Vietnam introduced a “National Programme on Energy Efficiency”, which outlines the government’s strategic vision for energy saving and reducing emissions. As demonstrated by studies like the Stern review, a large proportion of carbon emissions can be reduced by energy efficiency measures – which also reduce energy bills and increase energy independence. This is a logical step for a developing country like Vietnam.

There will be more and more young scientists joining the effort to develop green technologies. Professor Beddington’s visit here will, I hope, open the way for more cooperation in this. There will be more and more leading figures raising their voice to lead public actions. There will be more and more consumers saying NO to plastic bags (we already have such a scheme in the Embassy). They all will make a brighter future for the country. And the UK stands ready to work with Vietnam on this – both domestically but also internationally in helping to achieve a good outcome at the Copenhagen Climate Change summit in December.

Notes for Editors

See also Ambassador's Vietnamese language blog

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