HCMC – Negative impacts of climate change will likely take away 25% of Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the coming years if the country fails to take prompt coping measures, said a Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment official.
Tran Hong Ha, deputy minister of Natural Resources and Environment, told the Daily on Monday that if the worst happened with sea levels rising by a maximum of three meters, 25% of the nation’s population would be directly affected.
At the same time, he added, climate change will lead to a 25% loss of the country’s GDP. In a more optimistic scenario where sea levels swell by only one meter, the country will also lose around 10% of GDP while 40,000 square kilometers of coastal land will become flood-prone, he said as he is attending a two-day Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) forum on climate change that opened in the northern province of Quang Ninh on Monday.
“Based on the latest studies, climate change will mostly affect the livelihood of the poor and the farmer in coastal areas in the central provinces and the Mekong Delta if we don’t take measures right now,” he said.
He said his ministry had just envisaged a scenario for the country to adapt to negative impacts of climate change by 2015 in combination with other master social and economic development plans. The ministry is also doing more research on how to adapt to climate change by 2100.
Delegates to the forum are discussing ways for international cooperation to cope with the issue.
According to the environment ministry, Asian and European nations should take rapid action or they lose at least 40% of cereal output by 2040 as climate change bites.
In December 2008, the Government of Vietnam, which is trying to become a low-carbon country, approved a national program for mitigating the consequences of climate change. International organizations have promised to support Vietnam to get more financial sources to carry out the program in the coming years.
In recent years, several European countries have been sharing experience with and providing support for Vietnam in the climate change coping effort.
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