Helping Viet Nam respond to climate change is a strategic priority of ADB over the next 5 years

Deputy Minister Le Cong Thanh (right) speaks at the meeting

This is the information given at the meeting between Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Le Cong Thanh and Mr. Andrew Jeffries - ADB Country Director in Viet Nam, on the afternoon of April 8, in Hanoi.

 The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. It assists its members and partners by providing loans, technical assistance, grants, and equity investments to promote social and economic development.

ADB's Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) 2016–2020 for Viet Nam will support investments and policy reforms that promote more inclusive and environmentally sustainable economic growth.

To achieve this, ADB’s strategic framework will be based on three pillars: (i) promoting job creation and competitiveness, (ii) increasing the inclusiveness of infrastructure and service delivery, and (iii) improving environmental sustainability and climate change response. The CPS lays out a program of priority activities to support each of these strategic pillars. This approach is results-oriented and aims to maximize the impact of ADB assistance by improving synergies across ADB operations. ADB will also seek to strengthen the links and synergies between (i) sovereign and nonsovereign programs to promote private sector operations, and (ii) national and regional reform agendas.

Currently, ADB is working with units under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to implement circular economic cooperation activities. The ADB Institute in cooperation with the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment (ISPONRE) and Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund will organize a regional event on the circular economy in the near future. In dealing with marine plastic waste, ADB supported Viet Nam through the project "Promoting action on marine plastic pollution in Asia and the Pacific". Besides, the project "Integrated flood risk management and climate change adaptation" was approved in January 2021; in which, the 3rd activity of this project is "Modernizing the system of flood forecasting, flood and early warning of Red River-Thai Binh and Ma River" managed and implemented by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

 Mr. Andrew Jeffries - ADB Country Director in Viet Nam talked about cooperation projects between the two sides

Mr. Andrew Jeffries said that ADB is preparing to develop a country cooperation strategy period 2021–2025. It is expected that ADB will support Viet Nam with a total OCR budget of 1642 million USD. Notably, more than 70% of projects will help Viet Nam cope with climate change and green growth. "This is ADB's strategic priority for Viet Nam" - Mr. Andrew Jeffries confirmed.

With the list of projects proposed by ADB from 2021–2024, Deputy Minister Le Cong Thanh welcomed ADB's deep concern with the core issues that Viet Nam needs to address for more sustainable development in future. These projects have solved both aspects of climate change, namely adaptation to negative impacts of climate change and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions.

Deputy Minister suggested that the projects related to climate change response will properly address the problems that Viet Nam is facing. For projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in the updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), submitted by Viet Nam to the UNFCCC Secretariat in 2020, the reduction in emissions is increased. GHGs up 9% compared to the normal emission scenario (BAU) until 2030, with domestic resources. This contribution could be increased up to 27% when international support is received through bilateral and multilateral cooperation and the implementation of new mechanisms under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. "With potential projects of ADB, we hope to achieve this goal" - Deputy Minister shared.

Meeting participants

On this occasion, Deputy Minister asked ADB to support Viet Nam to promote business participation in the carbon market, with a view to implementing Article 6 of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

Deputy Minister Le Cong Thanh also welcomed two new cooperation contents between ADB and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, namely circulating economy and ocean plastic pollution. At the same time, Deputy Minister suggested that ADB give priority to supporting Viet Nam in domestic solid waste management, because this is a major issue that has a major impact on environmental quality, quality of life and greenhouse gas emissions.

Accordingly, the Government has assigned the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to unify the focal point for solid waste management, at the same time specified in the Law on Environmental Protection 2020. Currently the Ministry is developing Decrees guiding the implementation of the Law, and ADB may engage in international consultations. “The perspective of the Ministry is that domestic solid waste treatment requires the participation of many stakeholders from the State, the central, local and private sector. We will take advantage of ADB's financial mechanisms to help Viet Nam better deal with this issue”, Deputy Minister affirmed.

With the proposals of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Mr. Andrew Jeffries - ADB Country Director in Viet Nam said that ADB will work specifically with the units of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to clearly identify priority projects for cooperation; demonstrates the deep relationship between the two sides in an effort to contribute to more sustainable development in Viet Nam./.