HANOI, 15th July, 2022 (WAM) — Vietnam needs to invest approximately US$368 billion from now until 2040 to build a climate resilient and low-carbon economy, according to the Vietnam Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) released by the World Bank on 13th July.
According to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA), the Vietnam Country Climate and Development Report is one of the first in a series of reports on climate and development of the World Bank Group.
Carolyn Turk, Country Director of the World Bank in Vietnam, said that the country is increasingly seeing its development affected by climate change and now faces critical questions about how to respond.
The CCDR is about how the country can maintain its economic growth in the time of climate change, and how it can balance its development goals with increasing climate risks, she said.
With a coastline of 3,260 kilometres that includes major cities and production sites, Vietnam is among the world’s very vulnerable countries and is highly exposed to sea-level rise, extreme weather and temperature rise.
Initial studies show that the country lost about US$10 billion in 2020, equivalent to 3.2% of GDP due to the impact of climate change.
According to the report, a series of urgent and impact interventions should be focused on, including a coordinated regional programme for the Mekong Delta, an integrated coastal resilience investment programme for urban centres and connecting infrastructure, a targeted air pollution reduction programme for Hanoi, accelerated clean energy transition, and a new social contract to protect vulnerable people.
In order to become a climate-resilient and net-zero-emissions economy, the country will need to allocate additional investments of about 6.8% of GDP annually, or US$368 billion cumulatively by 2040.