Ha Noi (Viet Nam News/ANN) - International and domestic experts in Vietnam have jointly assessed the impact of climate change on energy and transport as part of the first phase of a US$2.5 million project funded by the Asian Development Bank.
The two-phase initiative, kicked off in early March, aims to provide technical assistance towards the National Target Programme on Climate Change.
"We chose to focus on energy and transport as two key factors contributing to the socio-economic development of the nation," said Hoang Van Tam, head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Environment Management Department.
The initial phase of the project is scheduled to complete by the end of this year, said project deputy team leader Ha Dang Son, from the MoIT.
Five pilot programmes, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, will be introduced at the beginning of next year during the second phase of the project, expected to finish by the end of 2013, he said.
GHG emissions will be culled in sectors such as industry and maritime transport in Da Nang City.
A street light energy efficiency programme and green buildings programme will in turn be piloted in HCM City and northern Thanh Hoa Province.
According to the MoIT, HCM City represents the most dynamic economic development area while Da Nang is a new model city with advantages in geographical location, infrastructure and socio-economic conditions and Thanh Hoa Province is in need of sustainable development proposals.
Bernoit Laplante, project team leader, said five main targets need to be met in lowering GHG emissions including developing a national emission factor for local coal, separating energy sector consumption, improving the "Long range Energy Alternatives Planning System" (LEAP) model, building low carbon and greenhouse emission scenarios and assessing GHG mitigation.
LEAP is a widely used software tool used in energy policy analysis and climate change mitigation assessment, developed at the Stockholm Environment Institute.
The team will also assess the impact of climate change on transport and energy infrastructure, he said.
At national level, assessments will be conducted on national highways, ports, airports and power generation facilities, transmission lines and power stations, he added.
Via such assessments, top policy-makers are expected to set up climate change response scenarios.
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