Facts on climate change and global warming

The AFD and EU have been actively supporting Vietnam in the areas of climate change mitigation and adaptation. Vietnam will receive financial aid from the EU and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) to reduce the vulnerability to climate hazards in several towns in four northern and central provinces. The project is jointly co-financed with a EUR5 million (US$5.36 million) grant from the EU, a EUR123 million ($132 million) ODA loan from the AFD, and EUR 28 million ($30 million) from provincial budgets. The principal goal is to help localities adapt to climate change and recover from natural disasters such as flooding, typhoons, and drought. Delegates attend the launching ceremony. Photo: the Embassy of France in Vietnam The regional towns include Phat Diem in the northern province of Ninh Binh, Ngoc Lac in the central province of Thanh Hoa, and Hoang Mai in the central province of Nghe An, Huong Khe, and Thach Ha in the central province of Ha Tinh. … [Read more...] about AFD, EU strengthen urban climate resilience in Vietnam

G7 nations vow to stop fossil-fuel financing abroad by end 2022, illustration photo source: freepik.com "We commit to end new direct public support for the international unabated fossil fuel energy sector by the end of 2022," G7 energy and climate ministers said in a joint statement following talks in Berlin. The term "unabated" refers to projects that do not employ techniques to offset some of the pollution caused by carbon dioxide emissions. Ending subsidies for the international fossil fuel energy sector was already part of a series of commitments agreed to by around 20 countries at last year's COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. Six of the G7 club of rich nations were among the signatories at the time -- Britain, Canada, Germany, France, Italy and the United States -- but Japan had resisted until now. "It is good that Japan, the world's largest financier of fossil fuels, has now joined the other G7 countries in making a shared commitment to end overseas fossil fuel … [Read more...] about G7 nations vow to stop fossil-fuel financing abroad by end 2022

At the international seminar on achievements, difficulties and challenges facing ASEAN’s integration (Photo: VNA) Moscow (VNA) – Russian experts have highly valued the role and strategic position of ASEAN in the region and in the world, particularly given recent global fluctuations. They made the comment at an international seminar on achievements, difficulties and challenges facing the bloc’s integration held Moscow on May 25 and 26. The event, co-organised by two academies and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, gathered representatives of ASEAN embassies and 40 Russian and international experts. The hybrid event saw 30 presentations in five working sessions, whose topics revolved around ASEAN’s external relations policy, relations with strategic partners, experience in regional integration, and sustainable development. Participants analysed ASEAN ’s roles and stances on building a regional security structure; and development orientations in digitisation, … [Read more...] about Russian scholars praise ASEAN’s role, position

The six species that are currently in a critical state are spoon-billed sandpiper, Nordmann's greenshank, great knot, far Eastern curlew, Chinese egret and Saunders's gull, said Nguyen Hoai Bao, representative of the BirdLife International Asia, the world's largest nature conservation partnership with 120 partners worldwide. Vietnam lies on one of nine important flight routes of migratory birds with over 300 different species, he said at a conference on bird conservation held Friday in Hanoi by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. The biggest destinations are Xuan Thuy National Park in Nam Dinh Province and Cat Ba Island off Hai Phong City, both in the Red River Delta, and the Mekong Delta's Tram Chim National Park in Dong Thap Province, Go Cong Town in Tien Giang Province, and the Tien River in Tien Giang and Ben Tre provinces. According to BirdLife International, migratory birds in general and those having destinations in Vietnam are critically endangered due to … [Read more...] about 6 migratory bird species in Vietnam face extinction

Garment production for export at Kim Dung Textile and Garment Company in District 12, Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: SGGP) Dependence on imported raw materials Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai, Deputy General Secretary of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, said that the total number of enterprises participating in the textile and garment sector in Vietnam, including foreign and domestic enterprises, is more than 7,000. Of which, only 18 percent of them produce fabric materials, 12 percent produce yarn, 2 percent produce other materials, and the rest are garment enterprises. This fact has put the textile industry in front of the challenge of unstable growth due to its dependence on imported raw materials. Currently, each year, Vietnam imports 100 percent of cotton with an estimated value of US$3.2 billion and 60 percent of fabric with an estimated value of $14 billion. The US is the largest cotton and fabric import market of Vietnam, followed by China, Japan, South Korea, and … [Read more...] about Vietnamese textile-garment industry strong but not stable