On the sidelines of COP29, Mr. Pham Van Tan, Deputy Director General of the Department of Climate Change (Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment) – Deputy Head of Vietnam's Negotiation Delegation at COP29, held a meeting with Ms. Anne Hammill, Vice President of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)

The meeting also included representatives from the Department of Climate Change and the NAP Global Network.
During the discussion, Deputy Director General Pham Van Tan expressed his gratitude for IISD’s past cooperation and support, emphasizing Vietnam's desire to strengthen and expand their partnership in the future.

Mr. Pham Van Tan provided updates on Vietnam’s progress in revising its National Adaptation Plan (NAP) and preparing the third iteration of its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0). He proposed several potential areas for collaboration:

• Developing strategies to mobilize private-sector resources for the implementation of Vietnam's NAP and NDC.
• Improving the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system for climate change adaptation activities.
• Assessing biodiversity co-benefits in the implementation of the NAP and NDC.
• Establishing and operating a carbon market.

Vietnam also expressed its interest in learning from other countries’ experiences in creating and refining a national M&E framework for climate adaptation. This framework is seen as crucial for enhancing transparency and mobilizing private-sector resources for NAP implementation. The revised NDC 3.0 will also include additional content on biodiversity and co-benefits for stakeholders.

Ms. Anne Hammill reaffirmed the IISD's commitment to continuing its cooperation and support for Vietnam in implementing robust climate change adaptation commitments and establishing a carbon market

Regarding the carbon market, Vietnam plans to launch a domestic market by 2028, with the intention of connecting to international markets thereafter. During the pilot phase (2025–2027), the allocation of greenhouse gas emission quotas to major emitting sectors and a trial run of market operations will take place.

Ms. Anne Hammill commended Vietnam for its swift actions in fulfilling its climate adaptation commitments. She also shared that the first global evaluation report on the NAP is expected to be released in late December 2024. Ms. Hammill reaffirmed IISD’s commitment to supporting Vietnam in advancing its climate adaptation efforts and establishing a carbon market.

IISD is currently initiating a new project on carbon footprints in the Asia-Pacific region, targeting Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines. IISD proposed collaborating with Vietnam’s Department of Climate Change to organize an international workshop on this topic, aiming to consult on actionable initiatives in Vietnam.

Both parties agreed to assign technical teams to study and propose expanded areas of cooperation, which will be submitted to the relevant authorities for approval.

Ngoc Huyen (NRE Newspaper)