Towards Stockholm+50: Vietnam joins efforts for healthy planet

The Stockholm+50 National Consultations in Vietnam was officially launched today [April 13] to bring the views of the Vietnamese people to the global stage on the key challenges that people and the planet are facing.  

The consultations, which reflect an inclusive process to bring in a diversity of voices, will cover recommendations to be included in a Vietnam report and contribute to shaping a key message at “Stockholm+50: a healthy planet for the prosperity of all – our responsibility, our opportunity” to take place on June 2-3, 2022 in Stockholm, Sweden.

Notably, a series of dedicated national dialogues with Vietnamese children and youth will be conducted to produce a separate mini report to share their views with national and global leaders for the fact that youth, more than anyone, understands that time is running out in protecting the planet. 

Vietnam is one of 58 countries to organize multi-stakeholder national consultations to inform the discussions at the global conference, which is aimed to define urgent, concrete actions to ensure a strong, long-term foundation for a green, inclusive future.

Swedish Ambassador to Vietnam Ann Måwe speaks at the launching ceremony held in Hanoi on April 13. Photos: UNDP

“Stockholm+50 aims to substantially contribute to accelerating the necessary green and sustainable transition. Time is running out and the global challenges we face must be met with a collective response that drives action on the ground,” Swedish Ambassador to Vietnam Ann Måwe said at the launching ceremony.

She quoted late Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme’s words ‘The future is common. We must share it together. We will create it together,’ saying that those words are still echoing today 50 years after the message was conveyed.

In 1972, the United Nations Conference on the Environment was held in Stockholm, the first world conference to make the environment a major issue. Leaders from 113 countries concluded that humanity’s own activities are the principal determinants of the future. Now, 50 years later, the world faces a triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss, as well as other planetary ills, including the Covid-19 pandemic.

Regarding the climate change in Vietnam, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), in collaboration with partners, will conduct a series of national consultations that will address areas critical to a just climate transition in Vietnam and achieving the Prime Minister’s bold commitments made at COP26 to zero net carbon emissions by 2050, UNDP Resident Representative Caitlin Wiesen said at the event. which was jointly held by the Embassy of Sweden, the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment (ISPONRE) and UNDP.

UN Development Programme (UNDP) Vietnam Resident Representative Caitlin Wiesen delivers a speech at the event.

“The consultations will grapple with three questions: First, what nature-based solutions will reverse dangerous environmental trends in Vietnam. Secondly, what actions will ensure a green and just energy transition that creates sustainable opportunities to lift millions out of poverty. And thirdly, which leveraged actions would accelerate a circular economy and address unsustainable consumption patterns as Vietnam realizes its full economic potential,” Wiesen emphasized.

Addressing the event held in Hanoi today, Assoc Prof. Dr. Nguyen Dinh Tho, Director General of Institute of ISPONRE said the Government of Vietnam has made strong commitments to and determination in protecting natural resources and environment as well as responding to climate change, thus contributing to the global joint effort to develop circular economy towards net-zero emissions.”

On this occasion, Frankie the Dino, a famous UNDP short film that brings a ferocious, talking dinosaur to the United Nations’ headquarters to urge more climate action from global leaders, was screened at the launch with the voice-over of Vietnamese diva My Linh. The film made a special guest appearance with the message: Don’t choose extinction, save the human species “before it’s too late.”

Assoc Prof. Dr. Nguyen Dinh Tho, Director General of Vietnam's Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment (ISPONRE), at the event.

Stockholm conference

The 1972 United Nations Conference on the Environment in Stockholm was the first world conference to make the environment a major issue. The participants adopted a series of principles for sound management of the environment, including the Stockholm Declaration and Action Plan for the Human Environment and several resolutions.

The Stockholm Declaration, which contained 26 principles, placed environmental issues at the forefront of international concerns and marked the start of a dialogue between industrialized and developing countries on the link between economic growth, the pollution of the air, water, and oceans, and the well-being of people around the world.

The Action Plan contained three main categories: Global Environmental Assessment Programme (watch plan); Environmental management activities; International measures to support assessment and management activities carried out at the national and international levels. In addition, these categories were broken down into 109 recommendations.

One of the major results of the Stockholm conference was the creation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).