Vice-Minister Nguyen The Phuong, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my honor to be here today to discuss the findings and recommendations of the Climate Public Expenditure and Investment Review (CPEIR) which was requested by the Government. It has been a pleasure working with Ministries and Provinces, and in particular MPI, while jointly carrying out this review in cooperation with UNDP. We are confident that the Review will help ensure a strong response to climate change and green growth in Vietnam.
The existing policy and institutional architecture in Vietnam is a good foundation for a sustainable climate change and green growth response that will show results in both the short-term and long-term. Vietnam is part of a vanguard of countries that have launched a progressive climate change response, and aim to dedicate significant resources to a comprehensive response. The government is making every efforts to ensure that those resources fully meet the demand, and that they are implemented effectively and in a manner where climate policy, activities and budgets are aligned.
Knowing what expenses and investment are dedicated to the climate and green growth response will be essential to ensure strategic allocations and effective execution of priorities. This will mean enhancing coherence across sector policies and programs by fostering a link between the state budget across all sources of funds and climate change and green growth policies, and reporting and measuring the extent to which the GoV’s institutional capability meets Vietnam’s needs for successful climate change response.
The report provides information for decision making, a model of how to use the budget process for identifying, planning and tracking climate change and expenditure. It also offers a basis to integrate climate change and green growth into the selection and appraisal processes for domestic and foreign investment. All these add value to the development of the Government’s climate change and green growth resource planning and mobilization.
Through the execution of the recommendations, the government will be able to strengthen the initial phase of the implementation of Vietnam’s key climate change and green growth policies. A first step in this process will be to ensure mainstreaming of the climate change response in the formulation of the five-year Socio-Economic Development Plan (SEDP) for 2016–2020, and the GoV’s state budget estimate. This would set the stage for a significant shift toward green investments across all sectors and provinces in Vietnam.
We are pleased that this review will be instrumental in informing the government’s planning and financing for climate change and green growth, thus making smart investments for Vietnam’s sustainable future.
Together with other partners, the World Bank is committed to help strengthening Vietnam’s resilience against the impacts of a warming world, making communities less vulnerable, and tackling the emissions challenge as Vietnam continues its journey towards a greener and more prosperous future.
