Vietnam faces challenges in fulfilling climate deal    Vietnam has a long list of tasks to fulfill in order to meet its commitments to reduce 8 percent of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 under the historic Paris Agreement (Photo baodautu.vn) Hanoi - Vietnam has a long list of tasks to fulfill in order to meet its commitments to reduce 8 percent of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 under the historic Paris Agreement, Jenty Kirsch Wood, senior technical specialist of disaster risk management and climate change of UNDP, said at workshop in Hanoi on December 8. The national adaptation plan (NAP) needs to clearly point out adaptation priorities as well as clarify the policy framework for adaptation to climate change, she said. Under the Paris Agreement’s Implementation Plan, Vietnam has outlined five major tasks to meet the commitments it made when ratifying the pact last month, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions, adapting to climate change, preparing human resources, running a system of measurement, reporting verification, and improving policies. The challenges facing Vietnam include budget constraints and overlapping strategies that present a test for domestic policy makers, Wood said. Developing strategies to adapt to climate change and managing loss and damage [a compulsory term in Paris Agreement’s Implementation Plan] is essential, she said. She urged the Government to encourage private sector engagement in areas of green growth, energy and industrial reform, she said. Pham Van Tan, deputy head of Department of Meteorology, Hydrology and Climate Change, said that from now to 2020, Vietnam has to focus on carefully preparing human resources and legal frameworks to fully meet the commitments by 2030. One of Vietnam’s main tasks is to sharply raise public awareness of climate change and of the legally binding commitment to reduce 8 percent of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, he said. Thea Konstantinidis, policy advisor of the Climate Change Working Group (CCWG) said Vietnam also has to ensure that vulnerable groups are prioritised and their resilience improved. The Paris Agreement, which sets out a global action plan to put the world on track to avoid dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to well below 2°C, has been ratified by 115 countries.-VNA