(VOVworld) – Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung stressed important and urgent issues in the national program to deal with climate change in Vietnam, one of the countries hardest hit by climate change and sea level rise.

At the 4^th meeting of the National Committee for Climate Change in Hanoi on Wednesday, Prime Minister Dung asked representatives to discuss and assess what the committee has done and work out specific tasks to make climate change response a key and frequent task. He said:“It is necessary to refine our policies and plans, including mapping sea rise levels, while conducting research into sinking foundations and providing observational equipment. Priority must now be given to climate change, the prevention of natural disasters and the protection of forests, which are highly significant for national sustainable development. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development should consider incentives to develop coastal protective forests". 

According to the National Committee for Climate Change, Vietnam’s laws and policies on climate change have been built and implemented in a coordinated way. Climate change scenario building and implementation as part of a national science and technology program have created a scientific foundation for dealing with climate change by the ministries, sectors and localities. In 2014, the Committee intends to adopt more mechanisms and policies to mobilize resources for green growth and climate change response, the integration of green growth with climate change response, and the socio-economic development plans of sectors and localities.