Vietnam – Clear and Concise

Interviewed By Cecilia Eklund

Published: December 16, 2009

The New York Times -What has to happen between the Copenhagen Climate Convention and the G8 Summit, 2010?

Nguyen Minh Triet, President of Vietnam- Once an agreement has been made in Copenhagen; the implementation really needs to begin.  G8 must also give their backing full support and the G8 members should review what has already been done and complete a progression report stating what has been achieving and what still needs to be done.

NYT – What have you to say in relation to the threats to security by climate change, if you are provided with three ‘aspects’ of discussion: targets, funds, engagement of developing countries?

Nguyen Minh Triet – We strongly believe that climate change is a threat to human and state security, in order to tackle this issue we need to do three things: we need to set targets to reduce C02 emissions, proportionate to the CO2 that the states have already emitted, and secondly and thirdly, in order to engage developing countries we require funds from the developed states in order to adopt green technology.

NYT – What have you to say about the ‘cap and trade’ trend and what is Vietnam’s stance towards this somewhat controversial ‘solution’?

Nguyen Minh Triet – We do not support the ‘cap and trade’ trend, it impinges on development, and does not put the responsibility of climate change on developing nations.

NYT – Do you find that the recession has had a substantial impact on the environment, or the world’s focus on the environment?

Nguyen Minh Triet – Unfortunately the recession has meant that Vietnam has had to prioritize education and welfare over environmental concerns; there are fewer resources available and we have had to cut budgets in this area.

NYT – How would you argue against dissenters’ opinions that the Copenhagen Climate Convention is merely a way-station to some other agreement?

Nguyen Minh Triet – We strongly disagree with this, we firmly believe that states are willing to commit and that Copenhagen will be a success.  In order to achieve a positive outcome, member-states must unite to tackle this urgent menace.

NYT – Could you respond to Al Gore’s exclamation – “We have to get it right in Copenhagen” –

Nguyen Minh Triet – We do have to get it right in Copenhagen, we need a successful convention for all member states to agree on realistic targets to cut C02 emissions and commit to the resolution.  We would also like to see a body established for aid for developing states to be invested in lower carbon technology; this aid should be required from Annex 1 countries in order to ensure development continues and historical responsibility contributes to a solution for the future.

NYT – Do you believe penalties should be implemented if decisions made during the Copenhagen Climate Convention do not come to pass within the allocated time-frame?

Yes, in order for countries to abide by these targets they must be incentivised.  They should be committed to the agreement reached at the convention.

NYT – What penalties would you suggest?

Nguyen Minh Triet We believe sanctions would be too harsh, however there could be some sort of fine – or possibly if they do not reach the target they should maybe contribute more in financial terms and investment terms more towards low carbon technology etc.

NYT – Have you formed any alliances with other nations in this fight against climate change?

Nguyen Minh Triet – We have been in close contact with other developing states, namely Uganda and Costa Rica.  In this instance we have agreed to sign Burkina Faso’s resolution as we believe it is closely related to our stance.  We give it our full support and hope that other states will follow suit.

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