Vietnam’s proposed fund for climate change applauded

Environment ministers of a number of countries have raised support for Vietnam’s proposal to establish a special programme to assist the five nations most affected by the rise of sea level as a result of climate change.Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan sought the backing during his separate meetings with the UN Under-Secretary General and UN Environment Programme Executive Director, Achim Steiner, and ministers in charge of environmental issues from the UK, the Netherlands, France, the Czech Republic and Sweden on the sidelines of the UN high-level Climate Change Conference (COP 14) that took place in Poznan, Poland, on Dec. 11-12, 2008.The deputy PM briefed on the real situation of climate change in Vietnam and its government’s moves to cope with the issue, especially the rising sea level.He emphasised the need to boost international cooperation in response to climate change, saying developed countries should take the largest share of responsibility for reducing greenhouse emissions, accelerating necessary measures, and providing effective assistance for developing nations in this field.Deputy PM Nhan suggested that developed countries should make financial contributions in phases so as to lessen their burdens and enable these funds to start operation soon.The ministers expressed sympathy with Vietnam over negative impacts posed by climate change, and put forth concrete proposals to speed up the current cooperation projects to help Vietnam with human resources development, technical assistance, technology and capital.Deputy PM Nhan also met with head delegates from Egypt, Bahamas and Suriname - three nations alongside with Vietnam are likely to be hardest hit by the rise of sea level - to discuss the establishment of the above said programme.These representatives all applauded Vietnam’s initiative and pledged to seek ways to realise this idea.