Launching the Art For Climate Festival Halong 2025

The Centre for Natural Resources and Environment Communication under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) held a press conference on February 20 to introduce the event.

The festival is an opportunity to honour the natural heritage of Halong Bay and to promote the values of national and international cultural heritages.

The organisers have introduced a series of more than 20 activities, taking place from February 20 to June 10, predominately centred in the city of Halong.

Activities will include art exhibitions, creative competitions, environmental protection discussions, climate change scientific seminars, investment attraction conferences, and a series of fundraising events for environmental protection and heritage conservation efforts.

According to a report from the United Nations in 2022, the climate will be four times harsher by the year 2100 even if the earth’s surface temperature increases by just 1.5 degrees Celsius. If the earth’s temperature rises by 2 degrees, the number of storms, floods, droughts, and heatwaves will increase fivefold.

Vu Minh Ly, deputy director of the Centre for Natural Resources and Environment Communication, emphasised the increasing threat from climate change.

"At least 3.3 billion people’s daily lives are highly vulnerable to climate change, and people are 15 times more likely to die from extreme weather than in years past," said Ly. "Around 14 per cent of terrestrial species are facing a very high risk of extinction if global temperatures rise by 1.5 degrees. If this number increases to 2 or 3 degrees, the extinction rate could reach 18 per cent and 29 per cent, respectively."

Ly asserted that the Art For Climate Festival is not just a cultural event, but also a global-scale social campaign. "The entire funding for the initiative is mobilised from social sources, without using the state budget, and promises to bring about positive impacts and strong inspiration for environmental protection and sustainable development," he said

Vietnam has shown strong commitment to achieving climate goals. The government has issued several important policies, such as Decree No.06/2022/ND-CP on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting the ozone layer, and the National Strategy on Climate Change until 2050, demonstrating Vietnam's determination to aim for net-zero by 2050.