On 7th August, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Minister Tran Hong Ha met and worked with Executive Director of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Erik Solheim. The Minister wished UNEPwould co-operate with Vietnam in building, developing and protecting environmental resources.
Speaking at the meeting, the Minister appreciated what Mr. Erik Solheim had done as the former Norway’s Minister of Climate and Environment and Executive Director of UNEP from May 13, 2016 until now.
Ha believed that UNEP as well as Erik Solheim would be the flagship to lead developing countries to develop international environmental conventions, promote science and information about the environment, cooperate with governments in building institutions and policies on the environment. Minister Tran Hong Ha suggested UNEP continue to support Vietnam, especially in the field of natural resources and environment.
In terms of environment, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment hopes that UNEP will support and share experience in waste management, research and application of hazardous waste treatment technologies in Vietnam; management of hazardous waste arising from the mining extraction and thermal power plants; air quality management, pollution control; exchanging information and experiences related to pollution control and sustainable and environmentally friendly production and consumption.
Regarding climate change, Vietnam needs to develop and improve policies, institutions and regulations related to greenhouse gas emissions reduction, adaptation to climate change in line with Vietnam's Nationally Determined Contribution(NDC) and Paris Climate Change Agreement; Support the policy-making and decision-making process through joint assessment of technical capacity and methodology for jointly measuring, reporting, verifying (MRV) of greenhouse gas mitigation in the building; Promoting knowledge exchange and sharing experiences through networks establishment and publications that contribute to the integration of greenhouse gas mitigation actions in national development plans.
In terms of sea and islands, the Ministry of Natural Resources wishes UNEP to support issues related to marine waste management; provide financial support and other relevant resources to deploy Global Plan of Action, G20 Action Plan on Marine Litter by developing and implementing the National Action Plan on marine litter; assess current status and sources of waste at sea and develop a plan for management and monitoring of marine waste. Besides, Vietnam hopes that UNEP would support Vietnam in capacity building at central and local levels for integrated coastal management; formulate a master plan for sustainable exploitation and use of coastal resources; establish coastal protection corridors, develop and implement action plans on integrated coastal management in the localities.
Regarding maritime litter, Erik Solheim said that Vietnam could promote regional efforts to address maritime waste issues through the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia and the Association of Southeast AsianNations, with the support of the United Nations Environment Programme.
On the issue of green finance associated with sustainable development implemented by the United Nations, Vietnam is a developing country, so there are many opportunities to access sources of capital and the Government of Vietnam can attract various resources such as private capital and socialization.