Act Now, Together and Differently

This, which is the central theme proposed in the annual flagship report of the world’s leading development organisation, is a reflection that at every level climate change considerations impact on the development process must be taken into account. The WDR urges us to “Act Now, Act Together, Act Differently”. The development challenges of climate change are more or less significant in each country and in each sector. The bank considers that the likely negative impacts of climate change place Vietnam among the countries where this is of most concern for the national growth and development. If it is a certainty that we need to do something, it is also true that the world has never faced such an urgent challenge for which so much uncertainty reigns. There is increasing scientific consensus around predictions of what will happen to the world’s climate over the next 100 years. But, we are dealing with very complex systems and changes and there is a small chance that they could be far more rapid and catastrophic than predicted at this time. What needs to be done to mitigate or reduce emissions is well known, but how to achieve the needed transformations of our economies and lifestyles is challenging. What needs to be done to adapt to climate change is even more problematic. Making the right investment decisions now requires detailed knowledge of the timing and nature of future climate changes which we simply do not have at this time. Now The unanswered questions and uncertainties…