PM arrives in UAE for COP28

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his spouse concluded their official visit to Turkey on November 30 and left for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to attend the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), the Government News has reported.

It quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Do Hung Viet as saying that Vietnam will announce new initiatives and commitments at COP28.

The conference is of significance as climate change remains the greatest global challenge, the Deputy Foreign Minister told reporters ahead of Prime Minister Chinh’s visit to the UAE to attend the gathering.

This is where the world will take stock of progress on the Paris Agreement - the landmark climate treaty concluded in 2015 - and chart a course of action to dramatically reduce emissions and protect lives and livelihoods, Deputy Minister Viet said.

In a recent interview with the Vietnam Government Portal, UNDP Resident Representative in Vietnam Ramla Khalidi said the UNDP very much looks forward to Vietnam’s launch of the highly-anticipated Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) Resource Mobilization Plan at COP28.

This marks an important first step in the implementation of Vietnam’s JETP, outlining a roadmap for achieving just energy transition targets, identifying priority areas and interventions, and defining criteria for selecting investment projects, Ms. Khalidi noted.

The UNDP encourages the Vietnamese delegation to actively participate in negotiations, particularly relating to the “loss and damage fund”, the establishment of which was agreed last year at COP27, she explained.

It is important to ensure that this fund can bring benefits to and be operationalized in Vietnam, as one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, to help it deal the unavoidable risks and impacts, she said, adding that “we also hope that Vietnam will engage in discussions and final efforts to define the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) and develop a GGA Framework.”