Vietnam, the world second largest rice exporter, needs greater international help to deal with climate change to ensure global cooking security, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has told the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit.

When sea levels rise a further 0.75 to 1 meter, Vietnam’s river basins and coastal forests will be 19-38 percent under water, which will have direct and severe impacts on livelihood and food security for Vietnam as well as the world, Dung said on Wednesday.

The summit is being attended by the leaders of 192 countries.

“We wish to continue receiving support and cooperation so that Vietnam can deal effectively with climate change and the increase in sea-levels, which will then help guarantee food security for the world,” Dung said.

Vietnam produces one fifth of the world’s rice output and is among few countries that will be impacted most by climate change while it does not discharge large amounts of greenhouse gases (that are said to be the main causes of global warming), he said.

The PM said he wished other countries will be able to reach agreement on new international solutions including the UN Framework Convention on climate change and Kyoto Protocol with amendments relating to the major dischargers of greenhouse gas.

Among the main summit targets are that developed countries should make strong commitments and set specific goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions towards limiting temperature increase by 2 degrees Celcius by the end of the century.

They should also help developing countries, especially those hit hard by climate change directly, to deal with the disaster.

The PM called for an international coordinating agency to deal with climate change issues.

Source: Thanh Nien