P4G Seoul Summit: PM affirms commitment to green recovery and sustainable development

	CSB 8021 Patrol Vessel about to depart from US to Vietnam
	Vietnamese leaders stress removing barriers for Covid-19 vaccine

PM Pham Minh Chinh at the P4G Seoul summit. Photo: VNA

As responding to climate change emerges as the biggest issue in the international community, the second Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G) Summit took place in the form of videoconference om May 30 and 31, reported VNA.

Vietnam is one of the seven founding member of P4G.

The P4G Seoul Summit is the third of the four major international conferences on the environment this year. It comes between the Leaders Summit on Climate hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden in April, and the 26th U.N. Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) to be held in November.

Speaking at the event, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stressed that striking a balance between the urgent need for economic recovery and the demand for greener and more sustainable growth in the post-Covid-19 era is both an objective and a pressing requirement for development of all nations.

He said the world is now witnessing the compounding effects at an unprecedented scale and scope arising from three major catastrophes, namely the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change and natural resources depletion, not to mention the ageing population in many countries. These challenges have left dire and multidimensional consequences, not only for today but also for future generations.

However, the pandemic, and those challenges and hardships have shown the world more clearly the importance of environmental protection and harmony between human and nature, and created a momentum to push global advancement and capability.

From that perspective, Chinh suggested that green recovery, green economy and circular economy must be vigorously pursued at the national, regional and global levels, under the general framework of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals 2030 and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

Second, he noted that green transition requires a suitable roadmap and it is critical to take into account different conditions and capabilities of countries, adding that developed countries should continue to take the lead in realizing their emission reduction commitments.

The third point is that it is imperative to develop institutions to encourage the support and engagement of all stakeholders, particularly the business community and the people. It is indeed crucial to promote public-private partnership (PPP) projects for green growth and establish new value chains and sectors through “greening” industrial and agricultural production, and services.

PM Pham Minh Chinh attends the high-level discussion in the framework of the second Partnering for Green Growth and the P4G Summit. Photo: VNA

Fourth, it is essential to enhance adaptability for the regions worst hit by climate change, including the Mekong Subregion and Vietnam’s Mekong Delta. The severe challenges in those regions call for the close and responsible cooperation from the international community, especially in the sustainable management and use of cross-border water resources. This will help ensure food and water resources security in the region and the world.

Fifth, preventing and curbing the pandemic successfully are most urgent for growth to bounce back. The efforts of each country are of paramount importance, but effective international cooperation is indispensable.

Such collaboration spans from empathy for the emotional and material loss of others, sharing of technology, financial and medical resources, especially vaccines, facilitation of international trade and investment, to cooperation in enabling transportation and movement of people and goods between countries, and avoiding disruption of global supply chain.

Sixth, the PM called for the spirit of unity, responsibility and mutual respect among countries in the common interest of humanities given the current situation. “We must sustain a favourable international environment and continue to promote peace, stability and cooperation for development. This will benefit our economic recovery and international cooperation,” he said.

The PM underlined that Vietnam is determined to pursue its “dual goal” despite numerous challenges. This means curbing the pandemic effectively while fostering fast and sustainable socio-economic recovery and development.

He stressed that Vietnam is striving to ensure harmonious, rational and effective development, balance economic growth with cultural and social factors, environmental protection and climate adaptation.

Global leaders adopted a joint statement on their commitment to efforts toward achieving carbon neutrality through “inclusive green recovery” from the Covid-19 pandemic as they wrapped up a two-day climate summit hosted by the Republic of Korea. Source: Yonhap News

Participants in the discussion shared the view that climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic are two urgent global challenges. Many stressed that green and sustainable recovery should be made the top priority of countries and the international community so as to create breakthroughs in implementing the Paris agreement on climate change and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

The event concluded with the adoption of the Seoul Declaration highlighting strong political commitments of P4G leaders and partners to overcoming the climate crisis. The document also sets out major orientations and solutions to green recovery.

Unheard-of special school closing ceremony amidst Covid-19 After 3 years of being together, this year, the senior students could not have a school closing ceremony together. The online closing ceremony became the ...

Vietnam, Cambodia put new international border gates into operation The international border gate pair was officially opened on May 31.

FDI inflows to Ho Chi Minh City down 16.52% The inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Ho Chi Minh City surpassed USD 1.34 billion in the first five months of 2021, down 16.52%, ...