Vietnam - Luxembourg cooperates to respond to climate change in urban areas

Luxembourg is developing a new strategy on climate finance and Vietnam will be one of the key countries for cooperation, especially with regard to urban areas.

During his attendance at the COP30 Conference in Belém (Brazil) from November 18-19, Head of the Vietnamese delegation - Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Le Cong Thanh, along with representatives of the Ministry of Finance, the Department of International Cooperation and the Department of Climate Change, had a bilateral meeting with Mr. Serge Wilmes, Minister of Environment, Climate and Biodiversity of Luxembourg.

The exchange was an opportunity for the two sides to discuss further the potential for cooperation and identify priority directions in the coming time, especially when both Vietnam and Luxembourg are aiming for net zero emissions and sustainable development based on green solutions.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Le Cong Thanh - Head of the Vietnamese delegation at the COP30 Conference and Mr. Serge Wilmes, Luxembourg Minister of Environment, Climate and Biodiversity. Photo: Chu Huong.

At the meeting, Minister Serge Wilmes said: Following the direction from the 1992 Earth Summit, Luxembourg is building a new strategy on climate finance, increasing the contribution from 220 million to 320 million. The goal is to empower local communities, promote the implementation of local climate change response actions with feasible solutions, suitable to actual conditions. Luxembourg has chosen Vietnam as one of the key cooperation countries in the coming time.

Deputy Minister Le Cong Thanh expressed his appreciation for Luxembourg's strong commitments in the fields of climate finance, biodiversity conservation and climate change adaptation. These are areas in which Vietnam has prioritized and is making efforts to promote action.

The Deputy Minister shared that Hue City has just experienced a serious flood and projects supported by Luxembourg in the locality have shown clear effectiveness. With the characteristics of a green city, surrounded by a large lagoon system, Hue is in great need of sustainable urban development models and climate adaptation. Vietnam wishes to learn more from Luxembourg's experience in green planning, urban nature conservation and developing urban models that harmonize construction and green space. Experiences in urban forest management, increasing green space and reducing urban emissions are expected to be applicable to large cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

On that basis, the Vietnamese side proposed that the two countries expand the comprehensive cooperation framework in the fields of climate change response, ecosystem-based adaptation, biodiversity conservation, carbon market development, green finance and circular economy.

Minister Serge Wilmes expressed support for efforts to respond to climate change in Vietnam. Photo: Chu Huong.

Affirming his full support for this orientation, Minister Serge Wilmes emphasized that Luxembourg is committed to investing in efforts to respond to climate change and related fields.

Luxembourg said: Vietnam will be the focus of cooperation in the next 5 years. Particularly for Hue city, Luxembourg is ready to support financial planning and promote urban greening. In addition, the two sides have been coordinating in green growth projects through the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI). In Ho Chi Minh City, Luxembourg continues to survey areas where it can participate in support.

Luxembourg highly appreciated Vietnam's efforts in overcoming the consequences of storms and floods when witnessing the urgent work of the army and people of Hue City to stabilize people's lives soon. This is an example of the "Mutirão COP30" message, calling on the world to join hands in efforts to solve climate change issues.

Deputy Minister Le Cong Thanh said that Vietnam is developing new urban areas and building a set of criteria to ensure harmony between urban development and natural space. One of the major projects is the new urban area in Can Gio (Ho Chi Minh City). Vietnam is also perfecting standards and indicators to attract green financial capital flows.

The comprehensive cooperation agreement on green finance signed between the two countries' Ministries of Finance in May 2023 has created an important foundation for sharing experiences, enhancing capacity and promoting green investment in renewable energy, environmental protection and sustainable development. Vietnam hopes that Luxembourg will continue to support the mobilization of green and natural capital, develop financial instruments such as green bonds and forest conservation funds; and provide technical assistance for the development of carbon markets and measurement-reporting-verification (MRV) systems according to European standards. Vietnam also asked Luxembourg to connect its investor community with priority projects in green transition and biodiversity conservation.

Luxembourg said it is participating in a financial mechanism with Germany, Japan and several other countries to provide pre-designed funding as a form of “insurance” for vulnerable communities against climate risks, which could be suitable for implementation in Vietnam.

At the end of the meeting, Minister Serge Wilmes affirmed that Luxembourg will continue to maintain its commitment to support Vietnam. The two sides agreed that after COP30, they will assign technical focal points to work in detail to build a cooperation framework or Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on environment and climate; identify priority projects on conservation and natural finance; and develop cooperation initiatives related to carbon markets and climate change adaptation.

Source: https://nongnghiepmoitruong.vn/viet-nam--luxembourg-hop-tac-ung-pho-bien-doi-khi-hau-o-do-thi-d785335.html