17 January 2022 | The series of GCoM National Webinars in Southeast Asian Countries continued for Vietnamese participants bringing up a theme, “Mainstreaming Climate Action Plan into Local Development Agenda.” The event invited Mr. Ngo Trung Hai, the General Secretary of the Association of Cities of Vietnam (ACVN), and Dr. Bernadia to deliver their opening remarks.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, the Local Project Coordinator in Vietnam, moderated this webinar and facilitated a presentation session that involved speakers from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), Institute for Strategies, Policies of Natural Resources and Environment (ISPONRE), GCoM Phase I pilot cities, and CDP.
Mr. Ha Quang Anh, Ph.D. (Director of Centre for Ozone Layer Protection and Low Carbon Economic Development, Department of Climate Change MONRE), mentioned that many laws and policies on climate change do not consider a uniform approach and are not implemented properly. In conjunction with this, Mr. Nguyen Sy Link, Ph.D. (Head of Climate Change Department ISPONRE), said that mainstreaming both mitigation and adaptation efforts is essential and requires three principles: proactive, prevention, and coordination. The participation from MONRE and ISPONRE in this webinar shows that the GCoM Asia Project receives support from the national-level government. The event proceeded to a panel discussion between GCoM Phase I pilot cities (Can Tho, Da Nang, and Tam Ky) and CDP as a technical partner.
Can Tho, Da Nang, and Tam Ky have developed their Climate Action Plan (CAPs) but experienced some difficulties in mainstreaming the CAPs as stated by the representatives of respective cities. Ms. Cao Thi Minh Thao of Can Tho City mentioned the participation of experts, data updates, and new methods as the city’s challenges. While Ms. Pham Thi Chin of Da Nang City and Mr. Tran Trung Hau of Tam Ky City emphasised a lack of uniformity in responding to climate change. The key to solving these challenges is increasing people’s awareness, aiding city officers with adequate and appropriate training, and incorporating CAPs across and/or within sectors.
Mr. John Leung of CDP mentioned that climate change is not merely a threat that must be addressed but can also be an opportunity to capitalise on. In this sense, CDP aims to support cities in reducing their GHG emissions through innovative business solutions. He also emphasised the CDP-ICLEI platform as direct support on GCoM reporting in this regard.
Closing off the event, Mr. Hai of ACVN said, “Amidst the pandemic, we are relentless in the battle against climate change and its impacts. Out of the many things that we are working on, we have been tirelessly assisting the country and its provinces to come up with legal stipulations to mainstream climate action plans into the local development agenda.”
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Written and reviewed by: Rona Ikram Putri
