Attending the conference, on the side of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, there were leaders and representatives of the following units: Department of International Cooperation; Department of Environment; Department of Seas and Islands of Vietnam; Department of Climate Change; Department of Environmental Pollution Control; Office sets.

On the Japanese side, there was the participation of Mr. YAMADA Takio, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Vietnam; Leaders of specialized units of the Japanese Ministry of Environment.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Vietnam and the Ministry of Environment of Japan signed a Letter of Intent to cooperate in marine waste management

Minister Dang Quoc Khanh affirmed that Vietnam and Japan have a close relationship. Japan has always been one of the most important strategic partners for Vietnam. Recently, the relationship between the two countries has had many bright spots, including in natural resources and environmental fields.

Emphasizing that Vietnam-Japan relations are at a very good stage of development, Japanese Minister of Environment Nishimura Akihiro expressed that Japan always accompanies Vietnam in environmental protection and climate change response for sustainable development.

Minister Nishimura Akihiro informed that Japan has built the ASEAN Strategic Program on Climate and Environment (SPACE). This is an initiative that Japan wants to include in the Japan Summit Report next September, and Japan expects that Vietnam will support this proposal.

Discussing specific environmental issues, Mr. Nishimura Akihiro devoted special attention to the ocean plastic waste cooperation because of its major impacts on the environment and human health. “It is estimated that, if there are no preventive measures, by 2050 there will be more plastic waste than fish. When plastic waste decomposes, it becomes microplastics and enters the bodies of marine species, directly affecting humans when we consume them" - Mr. Nishimura Akihiro said.

Looking for solutions to deal with ocean plastic waste, the Japanese Minister of Environment proposed collaborating with Vietnam to survey and monitor ocean plastic waste, toward establishing a guidebook to improve the monitoring and surveying techniques, and inviting Vietnamese experts to Japan to train in this technology.

In addition, for waste from the mainland, especially electronic waste, Minister Nishimura Akihiro said that Japan also has experience in treatment processing to help "return resources". "We frequently believe that resource mines are located in mountainous regions, but in reality, resource mines are located right in urban areas, because the trash we discard is resource mine if we know how to exploit and utilize it." – The Japanese Minister of Environment explained.

Minister Dang Quoc Khanh discussed at the conference

Agreeing with Minister Nishimura Akihiro's opinions, Minister Dang Quoc Khanh shared that to mitigate ocean plastic waste, it is necessary to monitor the amount of waste generated and floating on the sea and take measures to classify, collect, and treat plastic waste. At the same time, the two sides can consider supporting fishermen to convert plastic tools to more friendly and sustainable items. Considering that "returning resources" is a component of both a circular economy and a green economy, Minister Dang Quoc Khanh also praised the idea.

Discussing collaboration in responding to climate change, Minister Dang Quoc Khanh informed that Vietnam is one of the countries greatly affected by climate change. Landslides in the Northern Alps, geological changes in the Central Highlands, or river and sea landslides in the Mekong Delta are the most evident effects of climate change in Vietnam.

Overview of the conference

Minister Dang Quoc Khanh affirmed that Vietnam has always been a pioneer in responding to climate change and, as evidenced by the Prime Minister's commitment to bringing net emissions to "zero" by 2050, has been and is working together with developed countries to implement the Political Declaration establishing the Fair Energy Transition Partnership (JETP, etc. On this occasion, Minister Dang Quoc Khanh proposed that Minister Nishimura Akihiro continue to pay attention to sharing and assist Vietnam in developing a carbon credit market in order to help Vietnam strengthen its capacity to forecast and warn of natural disasters.

Acknowledging the opinion of Minister Dang Quoc Khanh, Minister Nishimura Akihiro said that to adapt and minimize the impact of climate change, countries need to implement Article 6 of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Accordingly, it is necessary to strengthen the development of the global carbon market, attract private investment to contribute to the growth of countries around the world, etc.

To achieve that goal, the task is to enhance the capacity of relevant parties. At COP27, Japan built a "Partnership to implement Article 6 of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change”, with the participation of more than 100 countries (including ASEAN countries). Japan is sincerely hoping for Vietnam to participate in the "Partnership in Implementing Article 6".

Sincerely thank the Japanese Ministry of Environment for inviting Vietnam to join the "Partnership in implementing Article 6", Minister Dang Quoc Khanh informed that Vietnam needs to develop rules, procedures, instructions, and regulations specifically on how to implement Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. One of the crucial components that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and other ministries and branches must soon finish in the near future is these regulations, together with documentation on carbon credit administration and trading.

Therefore, the Minister believes that participating in "Partnership in implementing Article 6" will help Vietnam learn a lot of experience to improve Vietnam's institutions and legal policies, identify support needs, develop necessary regulations, processes, and procedures, and create the foundation for more cooperation opportunities with countries participating in the Paris Agreement.

*On this occasion, Vietnamese Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Dang Quoc Khanh and Japanese Minister of Environment Nishimura Akihiro signed a Letter of Intent for cooperation in the field of marine waste management.

Activities will be included within the cooperation framework as follows:

1. Cooperate together to implement pilot projects/research on marine waste in Vietnam;

2. Conducting Training Courses/Workshops for Vietnamese participants to develop human resources on the marine litter management including monitoring and treatment;

3. Exchanging knowledge and experiences between Japan and Viet Nam to develop a manual and/or guidelines on the marine litter management;

4. Collaborating in the multilateral fora on a plastic waste issue including Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) of UNEA Resolution 5/14 entitled "End plastic pollution: towards an international legally binding instrument";

5. Sharing monitoring data of marine litter including micro-plastics collected and/or published including detailed metadata;

6. Other related areas of cooperation include the interest and agreement of each side.

According to baotainguyenmoitruong.vn