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Ambassador Mai Phan Dung, head of the Permanent Mission of Vietnam to Geneva, at the extraordinary session of the World Meteorological Congress |
Speaking on the sidelines of the extraordinary session of the World Meteorological Congress, which opened in Geneva on October 20, the ambassador said Vietnam stands ready to accelerate the national rollout of the EW4All roadmap in close coordination with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the broader United Nations system. The country calls on all partners, including governments, development agencies, and the private sector, to mobilize the resources and political will needed to ensure that everyone on Earth is protected by early warning systems.
He praised the WMO and the U.N. for their efforts to make early warning a global public good, saving lives and safeguarding development.
“The climate crisis, marked by increasingly frequent and devastating extreme weather events, poses one of the greatest challenges of our time, threatening decades of development gains and demanding collective and science-based action,” he stressed.
According to the ambassador, the WMO plays an indispensable role as the world’s leading body for meteorology, hydrology, and climate science, helping nations build resilience and protect lives.
For Vietnam, the impacts of climate change are not distant threats but daily realities. As a tropical monsoon country with a long coastline, it is among the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations, he noted, elaborating that severe storms this year alone have caused tragic losses of lives and livelihoods.
These experiences, he added, strengthen Vietnam’s determination to act and to deepen cooperation with the WMO and its partners. Dung described the narrowing of the early warning gap by 2027 as both an ethical obligation and an economic demand.
The extraordinary session focuses on advancing the EW4All initiative and other key strategic issues, including the Global Greenhouse Gas Watch (G3W) and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in meteorological forecasting.
This year’s session carries special symbolic significance as it coincides with the WMO’s 75th anniversary. Over the past seven and a half decades, the organization has been pivotal in advancing international cooperation in meteorology, climate, and hydrology.
Commemorative events, including a reception and a drone demonstration, honor the contributions by the global meteorological community and reaffirm the WMO’s commitment to protecting societies from climate threats.
With broad participation from member states and partner organizations, this year’s congress is expected to shape the long-term direction for global meteorological system development and climate response.
Source: VNA