New York (VNA) – Vietnam has joined countries’ call for UNagencies, including the UN Security Council, to coordinate and help countriesand regional organisations in dealing with climate change at an open debate ofthe UN Security Council on January 25.

Addressingthe debate, Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, Head of Vietnam’s Permanent Mission tothe UN, shared other countries’ opinions that impacts from climate change-relateddisasters sow the seeds of instability and even conflicts in some places in theworld. 

He saidthe world is suffering from increasingly serious impacts of climate change withvarious kinds of extreme weather, such as displacement of people and threats tofood security, water resource, and even the existence of island countries.

The diplomat shared the challenges faced by Vietnam as a country among the top10 countries hardest hit by climate change in the past 20 years and the top 6worst affected in the past four years. He noted that the sea level rise hasinfluenced the livelihoods of tens of millions people in the Mekong Delta, amajor rice bowl of the country, thus threatening food security of not onlyVietnam but also many foreign nations because 90 percent of Vietnamese riceexport come from the delta.

Quy stressed that it is necessary to set up mechanisms to share information andexperience in the fields, and enhance discussions on the relations betweenclimate change and security.

The debatewas attended by ministers, deputy ministers and ambassadors from 76 UN memberstates along with leaders of UN agencies.

According to Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peace-buildingAffairs, to address climate-related security risks, it is a must to developstronger risk analysis capacity, pool good risk management and preventionpractice  and reinforce partnerships toleverage existing capacities within and outside the UN system.

Meanwhile, Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Achim Steinersaid that the UNDP and the UN’s Department of Political and PeacebuildingAffairs and Environment Programme are working to develop a climate-relatedsecurity mechanism to raise public awareness of climate change’s threat to globalsecurity, and a mechanism to evaluate climate change risks and improve existingcapacities.

Besidescalling on the UN Security Council to take practical actions, participants atthe debate laid stress on the necessity of technical support and mechanisms tomanage risks and give early warning of natural calamities among countries andorganisations.

They said that relevant international commitments like Paris Agreement andSendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction must be strictly implemented.-VNA