WASHINGTON, November 8, 2012 - The World Bank Board of Directors today approved a credit of US$70 million for the second Vietnam Climate Change Development Policy Operation, part of a series of three operations to support Vietnam’s institutional development which will help the country respond to climate change.
The credit provides parallel financing under a multi-donor budget support program for the Government’s Support Program to Respond to Climate Change. Accordingly, JICA and AfD will jointly provide roughly US$145 million, AusAID will join with a first AUD8 million, and Korea Eximbank with US$30 million, bringing total support to about US$253 million in the context of the proposed operation.
This operation includes five policy actions, under the three thematic pillars of climate change adaptation, mitigation and cross-cutting issues. They focus on the water sector, energy sector, climate change integration into development planning and a more conducive environment for climate financing.
In particular, this policy operation has supported the development of a new Law on Water Resources, the adoption of regulations establishing the qualification and certification requirements for energy auditors and managers. It also helped with the establishment of a National Climate Change Strategy, the readiness for a national coordination platform for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation, and an institutional mechanism to promote climate – response financing sources.
The credit comes from the International Development Association – The World Bank’s concessional lending resource for low income countries. This credit has a 25-year maturity with 5-year grace period.
This series of operations contributes to assisting Vietnam with sustainable development and resilience – all are key elements of the World Bank's new Country Partnership Strategy with Vietnam for the 2012 – 2016 period.