Hanoi (VNA) - The United Nations-Climate Change Conference COP26(the 26th Conference of the Parties) is taking place in Glasgow, the United Kingdom,between October 31 and November 12. The UK will be assuming the COP26Presidency, in partnership with Italy.

The British Ambassador to Vietnam Gareth Ward talks to Viet Nam News, an English-language newspaper run by the Vietnam News Agency, about expectations on the conferenceand how Vietnam can play a part in the cause to reduce climate change impacts.

What does the UK’s government expect from the event?

Well, 140 world leaders are participating in COP26 - the UN Climate ChangeConference in Glasgow. The main objective is to keep 1.5 degrees alive, whichmeans to stop the world from heating 1.5 degrees more than the pre-industriallevel. In order to do that, there are four key issues we need to resolve.

The first is about mitigation - that is, reducing the number of emissions thatcountries produce carbon and carbon dioxide and secondly, we need to supportcountries to adapt because the world is already heated up more than 1 degree,perhaps 1.2 degrees, and we can see the impact of that in many countries aroundthe world, including Vietnam, whether is through rising sea levels or severeweather incidents.

And the third area we want to work together is finance because developedcountries recognise historically, we have produced most of the carbon emissionsin the environment, so we should fund developing countries to help youtransition more quickly.

And finally, it’s a negotiation on a treaty, so there are a lot of details ofworks to be done so that everyone can sign up the new measures so that we canhave transparency and collaboration between countries and that we are allworking in the same direction.

Could you tell me your opinion on the reduction of coal use in Vietnam?

Vietnam has a fast growing economy, and will need more electricity in thefuture. The question is what sources will that come from?

Within the past five years, Vietnam has gone from being a net coal exporter toa net importer and coal is currently a leading source for power generation in Vietnam.

Unfortunately burning coal is very bad for greenhouse gas emissions and for airpollution. Many countries have committed to moving away from coal – forinstance in the UK coal provided less than 2 percent of the energy mix by Julythis year.

Countries including Japan, the Republic of Korea and China have decided to stopproviding financing for new coal power stations. 

At COP26, the United Nations global climate summit to be held in Glasgow inNovember, all countries are being asked to commit to ‘no new coal power'.

Climate change is not just theoretical. In Vietnam we can already see theimpact of global warming which has reached around 1.2 degrees more thanpre-industrial levels, for example, salination in the Mekong, flooding in majorcities, and extreme weather events, all of which impact Vietnam heavily.

The biggest contribution Vietnam can make to the global effort to stop globalwarming is to move away from the old technology of importing and burning coal. Vietnamcan meet its energy needs through new technology and using its own cleanresources. Vietnam has huge potential in solar and wind power. Internationalinvestors from the private sector will build this renewable capacity quickly ifthe right conditions are set.

To enable this, Vietnam needs new grid infrastructure to increase its capacityto transmit electricity to where it’s needed. The international community wantsto provide overseas development assistance to help Vietnam upgrade its grid,and Vietnam can become a leader in renewables.

The energy transition should be a priority for Vietnam in the years ahead. Itbrings huge opportunities to create new jobs, and to attract new investment assupply chains shift and the global economy recovers. Moving away from coaltowards renewable energy development is not only cost effective, but also offertremendous potential to stimulate the wider economy. There are also major risksin continuing to build new coal, starting with air pollution and health.Dependency on imported coal, the risk of losing new investment and exposure tofuture carbon taxes are good reasons for the shift to a green economy.

What has your government done or will do to support Vietnam in the process?

The UK has been supporting Vietnam on energy transition and increasing accessto finance for green projects. Together with the World Bank, Asian DevelopmentBank and many other development partners, the UK is leading COP26 EnergyTransition Council with technical and financial support for energy transitionacceleration to 15 countries including Vietnam towards 2025.

We look forward to seeing continuous engagement with Vietnam and assure ourhighest engagement to this important agenda.

Investors from the UK are showing significant interest in investing inrenewable energy projects in Vietnam, in both solar and wind power. They needthe Government of Vietnam to introduce long-term support policies as well assimplification of procedures for project implementation./.