Circular No. 08/2016/TT-BTNMT on the assessment of climate change impacts and national climate assessment

CIRCULAR

Regulations on climate change impact assessment and national climate assessment

Pursuant to the Law on Meteorology and Hydrology dated December 23, 2013 11 2015;

On the basis of Decision No. 130/2007/QĐ-TTg dated August 2, 2007, issued by the Prime Minister, concerning some mechanisms and financial policies for investment projects under the Clean Development Mechanism;

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In accordance with the proposal of the Director of the General Department of Meteorology, Hydrology and Climate Change"b) In addition to the lists of public services issued according to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 4 of this Decree, specialized agencies under provincial People's Committees shall report to the provincial People's Committee for decision-making on amending, supplementing, or issuing the list of public services funded by the state budget within their jurisdiction and consistent with the local budget capacity within the approved budget by the Provincial People's Assembly, and send it to the Ministry of Finance and relevant ministries and sectors for supervision during implementation." and the Head of the Legal Departmentpoliciesof the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment promulgates this Circular on climate change impact assessment and national climate assessment.u This Circular provides detailed regulations on climate change impact assessment and national climate assessment as stipulated in Clause 8, Article 33 of the Law on Meteorology and Hydrology.policies;

The Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology issues this Circular on the issuance of National Technical Regulations on Radioactive Waste Containing Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials.ưởThis Circular applies to agencies, organizations, and individuals involved in climate change impact assessment and national climate assessment activities.policiesa) Units base on the accounting account system issued in this Circular to apply appropriate accounting accounts suitable for their activities., amended and supplemented by Decree No. 109/2025/NĐ-CP and Decree No. 193/2025/NĐ-CP1. Adaptation to climate change is the adjustment of natural and human systems to fit new or changed environments, with the aim of reducing vulnerability to climate change and taking advantage of positive impacts brought about by climate change."b) In addition to the lists of public services issued according to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 4 of this Decree, specialized agencies under provincial People's Committees shall report to the provincial People's Committee for decision-making on amending, supplementing, or issuing the list of public services funded by the state budget within their jurisdiction and consistent with the local budget capacity within the approved budget by the Provincial People's Assembly, and send it to the Ministry of Finance and relevant ministries and sectors for supervision during implementation." 2. Mitigation of climate change refers to activities aimed at reducing the level or intensity of greenhouse gas emissions.

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

Article 4. Information and data for assessment

Article 2. Applicability

Information and data for assessing the impacts of climate change, adaptation measures, and mitigation measures, and national climate assessment include:

Article 3. Explanation of Terms

1. The latest climate change scenarios published by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment at the time of assessment.

2. Statistical yearbooks.

3. Strategies, plans, and development programs for economic and social affairs issued by competent state authorities.

4. Meteorological and hydrological information and data, and climate change data.

5. Relevant information and data from ministries, sectors, and localities.

Article 5. Assessment of climate change impacts

1. Assessment of climate change impacts includes analyzing and evaluating the negative and positive, short-term and long-term impacts of climate change on natural disasters, resources, environment, ecosystems, living conditions, economic and social activities, and cross-sectoral, cross-regional, and cross-disciplinary issues as stipulated in Clause 5, Article 33 of the Law on Meteorology and Hydrology, to determine socio-economic indicators and long-term goals of strategies, plans, and programs subject to strategic environmental assessment. The content of the assessment shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Clauses 2, 3, 4, and 5 of this Article.

2. Assessment of the impact of climate change on natural disasters includes assessing the scope, intensity, frequency, and abnormality of meteorological and hydrological disasters.

3. Assessment of the impact of climate change on resources includes assessing the impact on water resources, land resources, forest resources, marine and island resources, minerals, energy, and biodiversity.

a) Marine dynamics changes: waves, currents, tides, sea level rise, saltwater intrusion; coastal erosion and accretion;

b) Surface water and groundwater dynamics, flooding, floods, flash floods, landslides;

c) Atmospheric and climatic changes: droughts, heatwaves, cold spells, heavy rains;

d) Land changes due to erosion and accretion; land degradation due to desertification and saltwater intrusion;

đ) Terrestrial ecosystems, tidal zone ecosystems, aquatic ecosystems, and other ecosystems;

e) Other contents related to strategies, plans, and programs.

5. Assessment of the impact of climate change on economic and social activities and cross-sectoral, cross-regional, and cross-disciplinary issues includes the following contents:

a) Assessing the positive and negative, short-term and long-term impacts of climate change on economic and social activities within the scope of strategies, plans, and programs;

b) Assessing the positive and negative, short-term and long-term impacts of climate change on cross-sectoral, cross-regional, and cross-disciplinary issues.

6. Procedure for assessing the impact of climate change:

a) Identifying the objects and scope to be assessed;

b) Analyzing and selecting assessment tools, methods, models, and indices;

c) Assessing the impact of climate change on natural disasters, resources, environment, and ecosystems according to the content stipulated in Clauses 2, 3, and 4 of Article 5 of this Circular;

d) Assessing the impact of climate change on economic and social activities and cross-sectoral, cross-regional, and cross-disciplinary issues according to the content stipulated in Clause 5 of Article 5 of this Circular;

đ) Compiling the assessment report.

b) Analyze, select evaluation tools, evaluation methods, evaluation models, and evaluation indices;

c) Evaluate the impact of climate change on natural disasters, resources, environment, and ecosystems as prescribed in Clauses 2, 3, and Clause 4 of Article 5 of this Circular;

d) Evaluate the impact of climate change on economic and social activities and cross-sectoral, cross-regional, and cross-domain issues as prescribed in Clause 5 of Article 5 of this Circular;

đ) Compile the evaluation report.

Article 6. Evaluation of Adaptation and Mitigation Measures for Climate Change

1. Strategies, plans, and programs included in the list of implementing strategic environmental assessments must evaluate adaptation and mitigation measures for climate change according to the provisions of Clauses 2 and 3 of this Article during their development process.

2. Evaluation of adaptation measures for climate change:

a) The current status of adaptation measures for climate change in strategies, plans, and programs, including analysis and evaluation of strengths, weaknesses, causes, and solutions to address them;

b) The effectiveness of adaptation measures for climate change on economic and social activities within strategies, plans, and programs.

3. Evaluation of mitigation measures for climate change:

a) The current status of mitigation measures for climate change in strategies, plans, and programs, including analysis and evaluation of strengths, weaknesses, causes, and solutions to address them;

b) The effectiveness of mitigation measures for climate change on economic and social activities of sectors and localities within strategies, plans, and programs and their potential for replication.

4. Procedure for evaluating adaptation and mitigation measures for climate change:

a) Analyze and select adaptation and mitigation measures for climate change that need to be evaluated within the scope of strategies, plans, and programs;

b) Analyze and select evaluation tools, evaluation indices, and evaluation methods;

c) Evaluate the current status of adaptation and mitigation measures for climate change within the scope of strategies, plans, and programs;

d) Evaluate the effectiveness of adaptation and mitigation measures for climate change on economic and social activities of sectors and localities.

đ) Compile the evaluation report.

Article 7. National Climate Assessment

1. The content of national climate assessment shall be carried out according to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 35 of the Law on Meteorology and Hydrology and in detail as follows:

a) Evaluation of the contents stipulated in Point a, Clause 1, Article 35 of the Law on Meteorology and Hydrology, including: characteristics of Vietnam's climate at the time of assessment; trends in temperature, rainfall, typhoons, tropical depressions, heavy rains, sea level rise, saltwater intrusion, and extreme weather events such as floods, flash floods, heatwaves, droughts, severe cold spells, hailstorms, and frost;

b) Evaluation of the contents stipulated in Point b, Clause 1, Article 35 of the Law on Meteorology and Hydrology, including: assessment of the degree of fluctuation of climatic factors, extreme climates, and extreme weather events; assessment of the degree of climate change of climatic factors and extreme climates; differences from the global average climate and the previous assessment report;

c) Evaluation of the contents stipulated in Point c, Clause 1, Article 35 of the Law on Meteorology and Hydrology according to the provisions of Article 5 of this Circular;

d) Evaluation of the contents stipulated in Point d, Clause 1, Article 35 of the Law on Meteorology and Hydrology according to the provisions of Article 6 of this Circular;

đ) Evaluation of the contents stipulated in Point đ, Clause 1, Article 35 of the Law on Meteorology and Hydrology, including: the degree of suitability of climate change scenarios compared with the actual climate trend during the assessment period; the degree of use of climate change scenarios for adaptation and mitigation activities during the assessment period;

2. The frequency of national climate assessment shall be carried out according to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 35 of the Law on Meteorology and Hydrology.

Article 8. Implementation organization

1. The agency assigned the task of developing strategies, plans, and programs of ministries, sectors, and localities under the circumstances requiring the implementation of strategic environmental assessments shall be responsible for assessing the impact of climate change, evaluating adaptation and mitigation measures for climate change according to the provisions of Articles 5 and 6 of this Circular.

2. The results of assessing the impact of climate change, evaluating adaptation and mitigation measures for climate change shall be fully reflected in the strategic environmental impact assessment report of strategies, plans, and programs according to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 37 of the Law on Meteorology and Hydrology. The review shall be conducted according to the provisions of Clause 3, Article 37 of the Law on Meteorology and Hydrology.

3. The Director of the General Department of Meteorology, Hydrology, and Climate Change shall be responsible for organizing the implementation of national climate assessment according to the provisions of Article 7 of this Circular.

Article 9. Effective Date

This Circular takes effect from July 1, 2016.

Article 10. Responsibility for Implementation

1. The Director of the General Department of Meteorology and Hydrology and Climate Change shall be responsible for guiding, urging, and inspecting the implementation of this Circular.

2. The Minister, the Heads of ministerial-level agencies equivalent to ministries, the Chairpersons of provincial People's Committees directly under the central government, and related agencies and organizations shall be responsible for enforcing this Circular.

3. In the course of implementation, if there are difficulties, they should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for consideration, revision, and supplementation./.