Little works for little students

Last weekend, Hien and his fellow students of Doan Thi Diem Primary School in Hanoi welcomed a special guest, Martin Lidegaard from Denmark, the country of the Little Mermaid from a fairy tale of Andersen. He is the Minister for Climate, Energy and Building.

Mr Lidegaard excited young students by introducing a puppet performance named “Cloudy-Haired Princess”, which told the story of Cloudy-Haired Princess and Big-Eyed Prince in their quest to rescue their kingdom from the threat of “climate change”.

What is climate change? It is global warming, sea level rise, more frequent droughts and floods, putting the life of sea creatures at stake.

After watching the performance, students expressed their determination to turn off the lights and fans when not in use, put garbage in the right places and carefully turn off the tap when not in use to protect the Earth against climate change. Some even said they would ask their parents and siblings to do so.

The puppet performance is part of the official launch of a program called “Raising awareness of climate change and energy efficiency among primary students.” The program is co-organized by the Danish Embassy in Vietnam, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment with an aim to heighten awareness of the environment among young students.

According to the Danish Embassy, the program is designed for students in a bid to encourage them to use energy efficiently in their daily activities. It is expected that the program will be implemented at ten other primary schools in Hanoi and may be expanded nationwide.

Nguyen Thi Hien, principal of Doan Thi Diem School, told her students: “In the future, you will face the problems caused by climate change. Therefore, you need to acquire knowledge and take practical actions to protect the environment and save energy from climate change.”

Ready to help

Martin Lidegaard was happy that many students got awarded for correctly answering the question: “What is climate change?”

He remarked awareness of environment and energy saving should be fostered since a young age. “With support of the Government of Vietnam and international organizations, we are optimistic that this awareness-raising program will inspire young students to take actions and reduce the negative impacts of climate change,” he said.

Denmark is currently the biggest donor of Vietnam in the field of climate change, with a sponsorship of up to US$40 million for the program “Climate change adaptation and impact reduction.” Vietnam and Denmark officially formed a strategic partnership in climate change, environment, energy and green growth last year. Minister Lidegaard told the Daily that Denmark would continue to assist Vietnam in this field. Sharing the experience of Denmark when facing the challenge of economic growth and environmental protection for sustainable development, the minister said those two issues did not contradict each other.

He said: “Thirty years ago, in a period when Denmark’s GDP grew by nearly 80%, energy consumption remained unchanged thanks to efficient energy use.”

In Denmark, all buildings must be equipped with efficient insulation systems and natural lighting and ventilation systems. As such, families can save energy for heating, lighting and cooling. Thanks to awareness-raising programs, each household in Denmark can reduce energy costs by one third. Denmark has become the nation with the lowest energy consumption per capita.

Minister Lidegaard said: “We should use energy efficiently first before thinking about renewable energy.” He stated investment in green growth would bring long-term benefits to Vietnam.

Denmark is focusing on development of renewable energy, especially wind power which is serving 20% of the power demand in the country, said the minister. Denmark is now a major producer of high-capacity wind turbines, holding a 40% market share worldwide.

Meanwhile, Vietnam is mainly using traditional energy sources to produce electricity and it is still difficult to satisfy the power demand in production and daily activities. Vietnam is promoting the use of renewable energy such as wind and solar power, but finance and technology are problems.

Minister Lidegaard underscored Denmark is willing to share with Vietnam its experience and modern technology to help Vietnam obtain green growth, ensuring harmony between economic benefits and environmental protection.