US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry will be visiting Vietnam this week, according to a media note from the Office of the Spokesperson. Kerry will travel to Ho Chi Minh City on September 2-4 and then to Hanoi on September 4-6.
The secretary is set to meet with government officials, civil society representatives, and business leaders to build consensus on key actions to address the climate crisis and accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy.
Before his trip to Vietnam, Kerry will attend the G20 Climate and Environment Ministerial Meeting in Bali, Indonesia, where he will meet with government counterparts to further enhance cooperation against climate change.
This trip will also be an opportunity to engage in discussions on climate cooperation ahead of the 27th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP27) to be hosted in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on November 6-18, 2022.
Kerry’s upcoming visit to Vietnam, his second this year after his four-day trip in February, affirms the United States’ commitment to supporting the Southeast Asian nation in achieving its net-zero goals.
The US said it would focus on assisting Vietnam to adjust energy planning and boosting renewables, including building a comprehensive offshore wind, solar, and coal elimination roadmap, the secretary said in February in his meeting with President Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
Vietnam has firmly pledged to cut gas emissions and take more vigorous measures for green energy transition. In July, the national government said it would gradually reduce and stop manufacturing, assembly, and import of fossil-fueled vehicles from 2040, leading to a “green transport” by 2050.
Kerry discussed in his last visit the urgency of accelerating national and global efforts to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and to step up all efforts to reduce the impact of global warming. Vietnam and the Southeast Asian region are considered the most vulnerable to climate change.
Vietnam and the US are currently working on a $36-million flagship clean energy project, the Vietnam Low Emission Energy Program II, which aims to accelerate the country’s transition to a clean, secure, and market-driven energy system. US Vice President Kamala Harris announced the project during her visit to Vietnam in August last year.