Joint action to strengthen resilience against climate change

On November 6, 2022, the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) opened in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, with over 120 world leaders and 40,000 delegates in attendance.

The comprehensive message of COP27 is "Together for implementation," which emphasizes the 2022 priorities that require action, the transformation of commitments and declarations into practical outcomes and actions, and the transformation of commitments and declarations into practical outcomes and actions. The subjects include climatic finance, research and technology, decarbonization, agriculture, water resources, community responses to climate change (CC), biodiversity, and response strategies.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Sameh Shoukry, the president of COP27, urged governments to address new concerns pertaining to energy, food, and energy transformation swiftly.

A report published by UN Climate Change ahead of COP27 shows that whilst countries are bending the curve of global greenhouse gas emissions downward, efforts remain insufficient to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.

The Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change stressed the responsibilities of all governments and individuals for the execution of commitments. 

In his opening address, he asked governments to focus on three critical areas at COP27. The first is a transformational shift to the implementation of the Paris Agreement and putting negotiations into concrete actions. The second is cementing progress on the critical workstreams of mitigation, adaptation, finance, and loss and damage while stepping up finance notably to tackle the impacts of climate change. The third is enhancing the delivery of the principles of transparency and accountability throughout the UN Climate Change process.

Under the direction of the Director of the International Cooperation Department Nguyen Do Anh Tuan, the MARD delegation attends COP27. It met with a number of partners to encourage collaboration in sustainable development, green growth, low-carbon agriculture, climate change response, forest recovery and development, and the conservation of biodiversity.

Mr. Nguyen Do Anh Tuan was invited to deliver the opening remarks at the Clim-Eat panel on "Increasing Food System Resilience." The topic covered the vulnerable and priority groups as subjects that require smart solutions, which meet local conditions, the encouragement of private sector investment in the agricultural production chain, and the strengthening of South-South cooperation for information sharing.

He also emphasized the need for "joint action" to address the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, crises in food, feed, energy, agricultural, and financial inputs, and affirmed Vietnam's desire to work with all partners to build and develop a transparent, responsible, and sustainable food system so that "no one is left behind."

Additionally, he reported that Vietnam would hold the fourth Global Conference on Sustainable Food Systems Programme in Hanoi from April 24 to 28, 2023.

In addition, the delegation actively participated in the event hosted by the Asian Development Bank with the theme "Adapting to climate change to improve coastal resilience and developing blue economy: Healthy oceans hold climate action solutions."

As a panelist, Mr. Nguyen Do Anh Tuan discussed the problems, challenges, and top priorities for enhancing climate change resilience and coastal region resilience for sustainable growth. Vietnam, which has a coastline of over 3,200 kilometers and coastal provinces and towns that contribute about half of the country's GDP, pays special attention to enhancing the coastal area's resilience to climate change and natural disasters.

It focuses on strengthening the coastal area's ability to respond to climate change, restoring and developing the coastal mangrove protection forest system, encouraging co-management of sustainable forest and fisheries resources, improving the capacity to forecast, warn of natural disasters, and inform people in a timely manner, providing policies to encourage and provide financial support for the implementation of synchronized structural/non-structural solutions for economic development, and enacting a number of other measures.

The Bank of Asia has announced the development of a Blue Finance Hub to assist coastal communities in enhancing their resilience, transforming people's livelihoods, and protecting marine ecosystems for the benefit of all countries. Vietnam is a priority nation to receive assistance from this Fund.