A corner of Can Tho city (Photo: VNA) Jointly organised by the Department of ClimateChange under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE), theUnited Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Global Green GrowthInstitute (GGGI), the event offered a venue for representatives from relevantministries, sectors, agencies, organisations, and businesses, and Vietnameseand international experts to discuss and propose solutions to cool urban areasin Vietnam.
Addressing the event, Nguyen Tuan Quang, DeputyDirector of the Department of Climate Change, said sustainable coolingrequirements have been included in the tasks and solutions of the NationalStrategy on Climate Change until 2050, and Vietnam's updated NationallyDetermined Contributions (NDC).
The department signed a memorandum ofunderstanding with the UNEP and the GGGI to strengthen Vietnam's capacity toimplement the “Intended Nationally Determined Contributions" (INDC)report on climate change, Quang said.
Climate-friendly investment plans have beendeveloped, while green investment and suitable financing mechanisms have beenstrengthened for sustainable cooling projects in urban areas, he added.
To promote climate-friendly cooling solutions toprevent extreme heat in Vietnamese cities, the department has coordinated withthe UNEP and the GGGI with the sponsorship of the sustainable coolingpartnership programme to implement the sustainable urban cooling programme inurban areas in Vietnam, which is being piloted at the Mekong Delta city of CanTho, Tam Ky city of central Quang Nam province, and Dong Hoi city of centralQuang Binh province.
The department and the UNEP have also jointlyimplemented “the NDC Action Project: Facilitating the Implementation ofClimate-resilient and Low-carbon Development Aligned with National and GlobalGoals”, Quang added.
In 2020, the MoNRE published an updated climatechange scenario, which showed that the manifestations of climate change such asincreasing temperature, changing rainfall, sea level rise and increasingextreme weather events occur faster and more frequently.
The number of hot days tends to increasenationwide, and the number of drought months increases in the northern region.The rising temperature coupled with the urban heat island effect makeVietnamese cities located in urban areas most at risk of experiencing extremeheat waves in the globe.
Therefore, the need for sustainable coolingsolutions in urban areas becomes urgent in the world and in Vietnam. Efficientand sustainable cooling in cities can help countries promote poverty reduction,reduce food loss, improve health, manage energy needs and respond to climatechange./.
VNA
