At the meeting (Photo: VNA)
The event was jointly held by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Director General of the MPI’s Department of Science, Education, Resources and Environment Pham Hoang Mai said five ministries and 30 cities and provinces in the country have built and are implementing their plans of action on green growth.
Vietnam participated in the Paris Agreement adopted at the 21st Conference of Parties (COP) in November 2015, and government agencies have coordinated with development partners to carry out activities to realise the country’s commitments under the agreement, he said.
In October 2016, the government promulgated a plan to implement the Paris Agreement and the Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) commitment, he added.
Deputy Director of USAID in Vietnam Craig Hart noted that while it is important to mobilize international financial resources for the purpose, it is necessary to improve the efficiency of domestic funding mechanisms.
He cited as an example the collection of fees for forest services which earns around 60 million USD for the country each year. Last year, nearly 20,000 rural residents for the first time received payment for their forest care from this source.
Meanwhile, Country Director of UNDP Louise Chamberlain proposed the Vietnamese government put forth policies and long-term commitments to mitigate risks for investors in green growth, reform energy prices and investment encouragement mechanisms.
She also recommended changing the methods of managing and supporting State-run businesses operating in the field of energy.
Attracting investment and improving investment efficiency are essential to develop the green growth economy, she stressed./.