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Japan, France commit US$134 million for fighting climate change in Vietnam |
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/Environment/201006/Japan-France-commit-US$134-million-for-fighting-climate-change-in-Vietnam-917353/
VietNamNet Bridge – As 22 million people in Vietnam may lose their home because of climate change, Japan and France have formed a foundation to help Vietnam prevent this danger.
On June 18, the Ministry of Finance, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the French Development Agency (AFD) Vietnam signed agreements for the “Support Programme to Respond to Climate Change” in Hanoi. Under the agreements, Japan contributes 10 billion Japanese Yen (US$110 million) and France contributes 20 million euros ($24 million).
The “Support Programme to Respond to Climate Change” is a Japan-initiated programme to support developing countries to tackle climate change, which is posing serious threat to many countries including Vietnam.
According to UNDP’s Human Development Report 2007/2008, under the 1-metre sea level rise scenario, about 22 million people or a quarter of the Vietnam’s population will have to be resettled and much of the agricultural land will be exposed to extreme salinisation and crop damaging due to flooding in the Mekong Delta.
To deal with these challenges, the Vietnamese Government ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol in 1994 and 2002, respectively, and issued the National Target Programme to Respond to Climate Change (NTP-RCC) in December 2008.
“The SP-RCC programme will not only support the implementation of the NTP-RCC but it will serve as a platform for policy dialogue between Vietnam and its development partners as well as other concerned donors in order to enhance the aid effectiveness to Vietnam in this issue,” said Tsuno, chief representative of JICA Vietnam.
Alain Henry, chief representative of AFD Vietnam, said AFD is willing to support Vietnam to implement strategies on promoting energy efficiency principles and renewable energy development, to not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but also reinforce Vietnam’s economy resilience to external shocks, such as those induced by fossil fuel prices volatility, as well as its overall energy security, by reducing the exposure of Vietnam to fossil fuel imports.
Vietnam is the second country in Asia (after Indonesia) that Japan and France provide preferential loans for coping with climate change.
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