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VietnamIntroducesLawAimed at FightingClimateChange

VOA News

   Vietnam has introduced legislation toadvanceits greenhouse gas
   reduction goalsas perthe Paris climate accord, decreasing worries the
   fast-growing nation'sreliance oncoal would stymie thoseefforts.
   The legislation includes a draft Law on Environmental Protection and a
   lower-level decree from theEnvironmentMinistry. Together,they prepare
   Vietnam to decrease its emissions of greenhouse gases.
   The combined laws use four main strategies: cap and trade; a ban on
   chemicals that destroy the ozone; corporate emission reporting rules;
   and a database of both emissions and the measures to decrease them.
   The proposals are a goodstart,but Vietnam will need to get more
   specific to turn itself into a "low carbon economy," according to law
   firm Baker McKenzie Vietnam, which issued a report analyzing the
   legislation.

   "Although the need for urgent action on climate change through economic
   transition and sustainable development has been recognized,Vietnam
   needs specific policies, incentives and legal guidelines,"the report
   reads.

   The legislation includes measures to decrease emissions by focusing on
   forests, namely reforestation,and using trees to lock in carbon
   dioxide.One of the nonprofit groups working with Vietnam to promote
   community forest management is the Association of Southeast Asian
   Nations-Swiss Partnership on Social Forestry and Climate Change.

   Social forestrygivesmore control of woodlandstopeople living around
   them, decreasing deforestation and corporate control of resources.

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