US Ambassador Michael Michalak Remarks

Ambassador Michalak

Remarks at Opening of U.S.-Vietnam Climate Change Working Group

March 31, 2010

Senior Vice Minister Nguyen Van Duc,

Climate Change Working Group co-chairs Dr. Gregory Smith and Dr. Tran Thuc,

Climate Change Working Group members

            I am thrilled to be here today to join you for the first meeting of the U.S.-Vietnam Climate Change Working Group.  Ever since Prime Minister Dung and President Bush agreed to form this Working Group during the Prime Minister’s visit to Washington in 2008, I have been eagerly awaiting this moment.  I want to commend Dr. Smith and Dr. Thuc for their efforts leading up to this moment.

            In November 2008, I was a witness when Dr. Smith and Dr. Thuc signed the terms of reference for this Working Group.  The task force was tasked to identify and assess the impacts of climate change, identify responses, and promote scientific and technological cooperation to support those responses.  With all of the talent and experience here today, I think you will soon make good progress towards meeting those goals.

            One of the primary reasons we are here today is that the Government of Vietnam quickly understood the risks from climate change – not just environmental risks, but also threats to food security, public health and economic growth – and decided to take action.   This vision has helped establish Vietnam as a country with whom other nations want to partner to explore climate change responses.

            We are also here because our two countries have built a strong record of cooperation.  Your work today and tomorrow will build upon the broad existing bilateral engagement on climate change.

            In the public sector, the U.S. Geological Survey and its Vietnamese partners recently established the first international Delta Research and Global Observation Network (or “DRAGON”)  Institute located at Can Tho University, which will focus on the Mekong River Delta.  I was fortunate to be able to join Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and Environment Claudia McMurray and some of you at the opening of the DRAGON facilities last fall and was immensely impressed by the commitment from all participants to work together to develop and share information on modeling, ecological forecasting and strategies for ensuring healthy ecosystems and sustainable deltas. 

            In other areas, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently signed an MOU with the Vietnam Administration of Seas and Islands for cooperation on marine and coastal science, with a focus on climate change adaptation and mitigation.   Through the Methane to Markets Initiative, EPA assists Vietnam address methane emissions from pig farms.  The U.S. Forest Service and USAID also cooperate within Vietnam and the region to develop climate change responses. 

            As announced last year by Secretary of State Clinton during a meeting with her counterparts from Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, the U.S. plans to integrate regional responses to climate change through the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI).  In December, the U.S Geological Survey and Can Tho University brought together scientists from throughout the region to look at the impact of climate change on the Mekong river basin.  Data shared at the workshop will be used in the development of the “Forecast Mekong” visualization tool.  Additionally, we hope that the Mekong River Commission and the Mississippi River Commission will soon finalize an MOU for increased cooperation. 

            However, private sector and civil society engagement has been just as important in responding to the challenges of climate change.   For example, under its Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network, the Rockefeller Foundation is working with Can Tho, Danang and Quy Nhon to develop strategies to respond to climate change.  The George Washington University Partnerships for International Strategies in Asia (PISA) is planning to support a Regional Leadership Institute on Climate Change.  I know that several of today’s participants, including, but not limited to, the Pacific Disaster Center and WWF, also have active climate change programs in Vietnam. 

            Looking towards the future, I expect cooperation to continue to increase.  This year, the USAID Mission in Vietnam will plans to conduct a study to determine how to best use anticipated USG climate change funding for Vietnam.   We look forward to working with our Vietnamese partners to identify the best initiatives for our joint efforts.  I hope that you might also provide some suggestions through your discussions.

            Over the next two days, I expect that you will review projects and programs that benefit both countries.  And I emphasize the word “both.”  Underlying our cooperation is the realization that climate change truly is an international issue and that we need to work together to find international solutions.   Carbon emissions know no boundaries.  So every reduction in greenhouse gases, whether in Vietnam or in the United States, helps both countries.  Vietnamese adaptation initiatives may serve as models for similar actions in the United States or in Bangladesh or in Egypt.  Studies of the Mekong Delta may identify issues relevant to the Mississippi Delta and vice versa.  So, as you get down to business, remember that while your efforts might be “local,” your results will be “global."