Any nation that does not adequately address
the negative consequences that flow from climate change will condemn future
generations of its citizens to untold suffering, says the United Nations
Development Program (UNDP). Akiko Fujii, the UNDP Deputy Country Director for Viet
Nam described climate change as the single most pressing danger facing the
nation at a recent workshop in Hanoi and called it ‘a critical issue’ of the
utmost importance. Citing statistics from the Global Risk Index 2017, she noted
that over the past nearly five decades an estimated 300 deaths have occurred
annually in the country as a direct result of natural disasters. Not only had
the cost in human life been great, but the calamitous effects of climate change
had cost the country in economic terms roughly 1.5% of its gross domestic
product each year as well. Extreme weather conditions brought about by the
vagaries of climate change had directly or indirectly resulted in some 5,000
natural catastrophes in the country over the past nearly half century. Recent
evidence based on the extreme drought and El Nino for the 2-year period
2015-2016 resulted in millions of Vietnamese farmers suffering massive
financial losses and clearly indicate the costs are continuing to mount at a
faster pace, said the UNDP Deputy Country Director. She praised the Viet Nam
government for its staunch support of the Paris agreement on climate and said:
The government understand that it is in the national interest to act on climate
change. The challenge ahead is formidable and there is no time to lose, Ms
Fujii underscored. The inter-ministerial workshop focused on evaluating the
negative impacts of climate change on Viet Nam and was organized by the
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) in cooperation with the
UNDP. It was held the second full week of June 2017 and attended by
approximately 100 governmental ministry delegates along with international
climate change and disaster prevention guest experts.
Raising
Awareness, Fighting the Impacts
The seminar focused on updating the impact of
climate change within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change, such as raising awareness about the financial risk in the context of
climate change and exploring how to effectively utilize tools to manage these
risks. Deputy Minister Hoang Van Thang of the MARD in turn praised the
workshop, saying it was a good opportunity to discuss mutual interests,
practical experiences and useful policies to calculate, assess, and evaluate
the impact of climate change. Last year saw freezing cold in the north,
prolonged drought in central and central highlands and saltwater intrusion in
Mekong Delta region, all of which are the result of climate change. Most
notably recent summer temperatures had been the hottest in nearly 50 years, he
concluded.
VOV
News – June 15 - http://english.vov.vn/society/lessening-negative-impact-of-climate-change-351514.vov
Đăng nhận xét