Vietnam, US expect stronger cooperation in climate change response

US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry discussed the urgency of national and world efforts to limit global warming and adapt to climate change during his working visit to HCM City on September 4.

Politburo member, and Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City's Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen (right) hosted a reception on September 4 for US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry (Photo: VNA).

In talks with Secretary of the HCM City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen, Kerry said that the US and Vietnam had enjoyed good relationship in many fields and the two needed to strengthen cooperation to quickly combat climate change, reported from VNS.

Kerry said that the US and many countries in the world were concerned with renewable energy development, and had set many specific goals for this major issue.

The world was in a race to transition to a clean energy-using economy, he emphasized and wished that Vietnam would jointly promote this transition.

Expressing his agreement with the US, Secretary Nen affirmed that fighting climate change and advancing the use of clean energy had always been a concern of the Party and State of Vietnam.

The country valued and had participated in the signing and issuing of many documents related to this issue over the years, he said.

The sides agreed that in the cities in Vietnam, which are the highest energy users, energy transition still faced a number of difficulties, including policy challenges and the fact that existing infrastructure cannot meet the needs of the conversion.

Nen said that HCM city had implemented many solutions for developing renewable energy and that leaders of the city were studying and would make proposals and recommendations to authorities to soon resolve problems on policies for energy development in the city and the whole of Vietnam.

According to the media's note of the United States Government, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry is scheduled to travel to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, September 2-4, and Hanoi, Vietnam, September 4-6 to meet with the government officials, civil society representatives, and business leaders to build consensus on key actions to address the climate crisis and accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy. U.S. climate envoy John Kerry gives a statement ahead of the meeting of the G7 Climate, Energy and Environment Ministers during the German G7 Presidency at the EUREF-Campus in Berlin, Germany May 26, 2022. Photo by Reuters/Annegret Hilse Previously, he was in Athens, Greece, August 28-29 to meet with government counterparts on efforts to reduce global emissions, decarbonize ocean-based shipping, and continue the momentum of the Our Ocean Conferences. From August 30-September 1, Secretary Kerry traveled to Bali, Indonesia to attend the G20 Climate and Environment Ministerial Meeting, where he will meet with government counterparts to further enhance cooperation on the climate crisis and highlight the positive climate impact of the Inflation Reduction Act. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Kerry’s Travel to Greece, Indonesia, and Vietnam is an opportunity to engage in discussions on climate cooperation ahead of the 27th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP27) to be hosted in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt November 6-18, 2022.

On September 3, US Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry paid a working visit to Ben Tre on climate change situation in the Mekong Delta province.

At the working session, Le Duc Tho, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee, said Ben Tre is heavily affected by climate change, including sea level rise.

US Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry paid a working visit to Ben Tre on September 3, 2022 (Photo: VNA).

Tho said that since Ben Tre has enormous potential for developing renewable energy, the two sides can cooperate to promote the exploitation of the energy potential of the province in the coming time and to help it to improve the quality of human resources in this field.

Agreeing with the Vietnamese secretary, Kerry said Vietnam, including Ben Tre province, has the advantage to develop wind and solar energy, adding that this will be an advantage for both countries to work together in the future.

The same day, Kerry and his entourage surveyed a landslide site in Con Nhan and Bao Thuan sea dyke in Ba Tri district as well as the Pacifico Sunpro Ben Tre Wind Power Plant in Binh Dai district’s Thoi Thuan commune and a cocoa production and processing facility in Chau Thanh district.

Vietnam, US agree to beef up defence cooperation Vietnam and the United States will increase bilateral defence cooperation, with priority to be given to addressing wartime legacy, improving law enforcement capacity at sea, ...

Vietnam, US Boost Health Security Cooperation Across Region Located in the heart of Hanoi, a United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Southeast Asia Regional Office will be to coordinate Covid-19 ...

Vietnam, US Target Strategic Partnership Vietnam and the US will work to elevate the Vietnam-US relationship to a strategic partnership.