Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quang Thuan Vice President Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences

Outline  Impacts of climate change on Vietnam  Vietnam’s position in response to climate change  Measures taken by Vietnam for responding to climate change  Vietnam’s international cooperation in responding to climate change  About the book

Impacts of Climate Change on Vietnam  Climate change, global warming and related impacts such as rising sea levels have been and will be a major challenge for mankind,  Under the most optimistic climate change scenarios, by the end of the 21 st century, the average temperature rises about 2.3 degree Celsius,  meaning that the sea level in Vietnam could rise between 75 centimeters to one meter compared to the average level of the period,  40% of the area of the Mekong delta, 11% of the area of Red River delta, 3% of the area of other coastal provinces will be under the water; 20% of the area of Ho Chi Minh city could be flooded; 10-12% of population could be directly affected, and it costs the country about 10% of its GDP

Vietnam’s Position: (according to Vietnam’s sustainable development strategy in approved by the Prime Minister)  Rapid development must be associated with sustainable development,  Sustainable development is required throughout,  Socio-economic development must always attach special importance to environmental protection and improvement, and active responses to climate change,  Adaptation to and mitigation of climate change should be implemented simultaneously, and are central points in the development strategy of Vietnam,  Green growth, low-carbon oriented economic growth and development are considered important, while using energy economically and efficiently, and developing clean and renewable energy to ensure national energy security.

Measures taken by Vietnam (policy perspectives)  Environmental Protection Law: promulgated in 1993 and amended in 2005,  Decision 58/2008/QD-TTg by the Prime Minister on the National Target Programme on responses to climate change: promulgated in 2008,  Decision 1393/QD-TTg (2012) on the National Strategy for Green Growth: promulgated in 2012,  Decision No. 2139/QD-TTg of the Vietnamese government on the approval of the national strategy on climate change to the year 2050, with a vision to 2100: promulgated on 5 December 2011; and  Decision No. 1570/QD-TTg by the Prime Minister on the approval of the strategy on exploitation and sustainable use of natural resources and protection of the marine environment to the year 2020, with a vision to 2030, issued on 9 June 2013.

Vietnam’s international cooperation in responding to climate change  Position of Vietnam: international cooperation in coping with climate change is very important.  The government of Vietnam affirms that: “responding to climate change must be placed at the global level."  Understanding the negative impacts of climate change, Vietnam actively participates in various activities against the impacts of climate change proposed by the UN.  Vietnam has signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on 11 June 1994,  Vietnam has signed the Kyoto Protocol on December 3, 1998, which has been ratified on December 25, 2002.

 Cooperation with the European Union :  Vietnam and the EU have signed a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) in replacement of the Framework Agreement for Cooperation in 1995,  The PCA has officially come into force on June 27,  Article 31 of the PCA between Vietnam and the EU affirms that both sides will: “cooperate to accelerate the fight against climate change and its impact on environmental degradation and poverty, promote policies to help mitigate climate change and adapt to the negative effects of climate change, especially the rise of sea levels, and to set their economies on sustainable low-carbon growth paths.”

About About the book: The Governance of Climate Relations between Europe and Asia: Evidence from China and Vietnam as Key Emerging Economies  Published by Edward Elgar in 2013 as the result of collaboration between scientists of the Institute of European Studies of VASS and the University of Leuven, financially supported by Nafosted (VN) and the Flemish Fund for Scientific Research (FWO) (Belgium)  The book is a testimony to our succesful collaboration, and opens up the prospect for future cooperation between Vietnam and the EU in general, and Vietnam and Belgium in particular, in responding to climate change as well as in comprehensive cooperation for sustainable development and prosperity.

Thank you for your attention!