"Viet Nam recognizes that response to climate change and disaster prevention is vital for the country's sustainable development. Viet Nam has promulgated and implemented a number of strategies and policies on climate change, disaster prevention, sustainable development and green growth," said Vice Minister Vo Tuan Nhan in his remarks.
Meanwhile, Ms. Pratibha Mehta, noted that Viet Nam was severely affected by climate extremes. “Women, children, the elderly and ethnic minorities are among the most vulnerable groups and every effort is needed to help build their resilience,” she said. “The right policies, capacity and knowledge are continuously needed in order to take measures to reduce climate risks. Without that, sustainable development is not possible in Viet Nam”.
IPCC Chair Lee said the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) would build on the good picture of climate change and impacts globally delivered by the IPCC’s last major report, the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), completed in 2014.
To respond to the request of UNFCCC in the COP 21 Decision, IPCC is developing a “Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways”.
“For AR6, we would like to see the research community tackle local questions and provide us with scientific literature that can feed into the assessments. We also hope that Viet Nam and other developing countries will nominate more scientists as IPCC authors across the range of topics that we assess,” said Mr Lee.
At the workshop, scientists also presented the findings of AR5, which was a crucial input to the Paris Climate Change Agreement reached in December 2015. AR5 found the world has the means to limit global warming and build a more prosperous and sustainable future, but limiting warming to 2ºC relative to pre-industrial levels would require substantial emissions reductions over the next few decades.
“Continued high emissions will increase the risks for Viet Nam, which is vulnerable to a range of impacts including sea-level rise and extreme climate events,” said Hans-Otto Pörtner, Co-Chair of Working Group II of the IPCC, which deals with impacts and adaptation to climate change. “Climate change is a threat to sustainable development, but there are many opportunities to link mitigation, adaptation and other societal objectives,” said Pörtner.
Other speakers include IPCC Working Group I Co-Chair Panmao Zhai, Working Group II Vice-Chair Joy Pereira, Working Group III Vice-Chair Diana Ürge-Vorsatz, and representatives of the Viet Nam Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Climate Change (IMHEN), the Department of Meteorology, Hydrology and Climate Change (DMHCC), the Viet Nam Panel on Climate Change (VPCC), and UNDP.
On this occasion, Viet Nam also presented the draft of 2016 climate change and sea-level rise scenarios for the country and Plan for Implementation of the Paris Agreement./.