It's time to go "from climate change to climate action" in efforts to save the planet, U.S. pop star Pharrell Williams said at the United Nations on Friday. Singer-producer Williams, 41, partnered with the United Nations Foundation on the International Day of Happiness to raise awareness and call for more action on climate change. "If you look at our behavior is hard to believe we’re all aware we only have one planet," Williams said in a General Assembly hall crowded with young people. "My main inspiration for being here today is that we’re in trouble, but we can change that. This earth is our home." The star is the creative director of the Live Earth movement, which campaigns for a climate deal to be reached before a global summit takes place in Paris in December. At January's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Williams and former U.S. vice-president Al Gore announced that a Live Earth music event to demand action on climate change will take place across seven … [Read more...] about Pharrell Williams urges action on climate change
Climate change
Vietnam needs bn to cope with climate change in 2015-20: expert
Climate change brings about damage worth 2-6 percent of Vietnam’s GDP per year and the country needs roughly US$30 billion to cope with it in the next five years, a Vietnamese official has said. Dr. Pham Hoang Mai, head of the Department of Science, Education, Natural Resources, and Environment under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, released the figures at a ceremony in Hanoi on Thursday. The event was jointly held by the ministry, the World Bank, and the United Nations Development Program to announce the Climate Public Expenditure and Investment Review (CPEIR) for Vietnam. Over the past decade, climate-related disasters, particularly storms and floods, have cost Vietnam an annual average of $3-9 billion, or 2-6 percent of the country’s GDP, Dr. Mai told the ceremony, citing the figures of the Asian Development Bank. Dr. Mai also said official development assistance given by the international community to projects in Vietnam to deal with climate change and promote … [Read more...] about Vietnam needs bn to cope with climate change in 2015-20: expert
France continues to support Vietnam in response to climate change – News – Investment
In a summary of 20 years in Vietnam, particularly in the field of climate change, the AFD said it has developed 33 projects with a total value of 830 million euros (US$907.88 million), accounting for 51.8 percent of the 1.6 billion euros ($1.75 billion) the agency was originally committed to investing in Vietnam, said Rémi Genevey, AFD Vietnam director. Those 33 projects have helped Vietnam reduce two million tons of CO2 emissions each year, and supported 30,000 Vietnamese people most vulnerable to climate change in stabilizing their residence and income, he told Tuoi Tre News on Monday. From 2005 to now, the AFD has invested 600 million euros ($656.3 million) of the total 1.6 billion euros committed to lend to Vietnam, 90 percent of which are loans with preferential interest rates. At the ongoing United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris, at Vietnam's booth, there will be a presentation on the results of an AFD-funded research project on climate change jointly … [Read more...] about France continues to support Vietnam in response to climate change – News – Investment
Bản in : Funds to assist climate change adaption production models unveiled
The coordination board of the Climate Change Adaptation in the Mekong Delta ( AMD ) project in Tra Vinh organised a conference to introduce the Climate Change Adaption (CCA) fund on June 25. The goal of the fund is to reduce risks and encourage the application of proper production models and services to yield sustainable incomes for local residents under changing environmental conditions as well as raise climate change adaptation capability among communities. Huynh Nghia Tho, Director of the board, said from 2015-2019, the CCA Fund will sponsor 28 CCA production models in farming, animal livestock and seafood with a non-refundable aid of 47 billion VND (2.15 million USD). Qualified models yield high output despite climate change impacts and have been recommended for expansion by the Tra Vinh Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. Under the conditions of the fund, organisations and individuals participating in verified production models will be assisted with non-refundable … [Read more...] about Bản in : Funds to assist climate change adaption production models unveiled
Bản in : Ethnic minorities cope with climate change
Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam is home to 53 ethnic minority groups with a population of nearly 14 million, who mainly live in remote mountainous, midland and coastal areas that are vulnerable to natural disasters. Vietnam is one of the five countries most affected by climate change – especially rising sea levels. Each year, the country is hit by between five to seven storms and floods, which seriously impact 50 percent of land and 70 percent of the population. Ethnic minority groups in particular have become more aware of climate change, which has increased the frequency and severity of droughts, floods and landslides in recent years. Landslides triggered by heavy rains in the northern mountainous provinces of Son La, Lao Cai and Yen Bai, as well as the Central Highlands, have spoilt farmland. Prolonged drought in the central province of Ninh Thuan has brought about water shortages. In the Central Highlands, water reservoirs, rivers and streams as well as underground water … [Read more...] about Bản in : Ethnic minorities cope with climate change