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The head of the European Space Agency (ESA) has warned economic damage from heatwaves and drought could dwarf Europe's energy crisis as he called for urgent action to tackle climate change. Director General Josef Aschbacher told Reuters successive heatwaves along with wildfires, shrinking rivers and rising land temperatures as measured from space left no doubt about the toll on agriculture and other industries from climate change. "Today, we are very concerned about the energy crisis, and rightly so. But this crisis is very small compared to the impact of climate change, which is of a much bigger magnitude and really has to be tackled extremely fast," he said. He was speaking in an interview as heatwaves and floods generate concerns over extreme weather across the globe. More than 57,200 hectares have been swallowed by wildfire in France this year, nearly six times the full-year average. In Spain, a prolonged dry spell made July the hottest month since at least 1961. … [Read more...] about Climate risks dwarf Europe’s energy crisis, space chief warns

A letter signed by Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan asks provinces and cities to review, amend, supplement and improve their industry promotion regulations, prepare local industry promotion programs for 2023 to 2025, develop technical and economic standards for industry promotion activities, create favorable conditions for local departments of industry and trade to help local people’s committees perform state management of industry promotion, and strengthen the inspection, supervision and evaluation of industry promotion activities. Helping rural industrial establishments recover and develop production and trading in the post-COVID-19 period is a task of departments of industry and trade According to the official letter, departments of industry and trade must ensure efficient, on-time implementation of their 2022 national and local industry promotion plans, help rural industrial establishments recover and develop production and trading in the … [Read more...] about Ministry facilitates rural industrial development

The capital city is committed to accompanying the business community in promoting industrial products using advanced and environmentally friendly technologies with high-added value. Hanoi is pushing for the development of industrial infrastructure and key industrial products, seen as the driving force for the capital city’s sustainable economic growth. Thang Long Industrial Park in Dong Anh District, Hanoi. File photo During the first six months of 2022, the municipal Department of Industry and Trade started the construction of six industrial parks and is working on accelerating 38 other projects in the city. For the 2021-2025 period, Hanoi aims for supporting industries to make up 30% of the total value of industrial production, an increase of 5% from the current level; raise the value of key industrial products to 40-45% of total industrial production, and expects 10% of businesses in Hanoi to stay among Vietnam’s top 500 companies. To realize this goal, … [Read more...] about Hanoi promotes industrial infrastructure development for sustainable growth

Spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) recently met with the embassies of Germany, the Czech Republic and Spain and asked them to coordinate with Vietnam to tackle difficulties regarding granting visas in the new version of Vietnam’s passports, according to the MoFA. At the MoFA’s regular press meeting on August 11, spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang updated the media on some countries’ refusals to recognise the new version of the passports since they don’t contain information about place of birth. She said under the Prime Minister’s direction, the MoFA’s Consular Department and the MPS’s Immigration Department had a working session on August 9 with the embassies of Germany , the Czech Republic and Spain in Hanoi to discuss the countries’ suspension of issuing visas on new Vietnamese passport s due to the absence of this … [Read more...] about Ministries work to smooth out problems with new version of Vietnamese passport

Foreign tourists visit the Independence Palace in HCM City on August 8. (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Strict visa policies and a shortage of human resources and infrastructure in the tourism sector have stymied recovery of the travel industry, and the target of five million international arrivals this year could be out of reach, industry players have warned. Domestic travel has seen a strong rebound whereas international tourism, with a target of five million arrivals this year, remains in a slump, said Vu The Binh, Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association. Domestic visitor numbers topped 71.1 million in just the first seven months of this year against a full-year target of 60 million, he said. In the same period there were only 733,000 international visitors, or 8% of pre-pandemic numbers, he told a two-day programme titled ‘Lien Ket Suc Manh Du Lich Vietnam Nam 2022’ (Power of Vietnam Tourism Linkages) that ended in Ho Chi Minh City on August 9. Though … [Read more...] about Vietnam mulls ways to boost inbound travel

Generating power from sunlight bouncing off the ground, working at night, even helping to grow strawberries: solar panel technology is evolving fast as costs plummet for a key segment of the world's energy transition. The International Energy Agency says solar will have to scale up significantly this decade to meet the Paris climate target of limiting temperature rises to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The good news is that costs have fallen dramatically. In a report on solutions earlier this year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said solar unit costs had dropped 85 percent between 2010 and 2019, while wind fell 55 percent. "There's some claim that it's the cheapest way humans have ever been able to make electricity at scale," said Gregory Nemet, a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a lead author on that report. Experts hope the high fossil fuel prices and fears over energy security caused by Russia's attack on Ukraine will … [Read more...] about Cheaper, changing and crucial: the rise of solar power