`Vietnam’s air quality index is often at unhealthy levels and this is a worrying issue,` US Ambassador to Vietnam Kritenbrink said at the seminar `Addressing the Air Quality Crisis.`
In recent days, the air quality in Hanoi has been at a `very bad` level, as on January 21, 5 monitoring points of the Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and Environment in Hoan Kiem, Bac Tu Liem, and Soc Son recorded
Ambassador Daniel Kritenbrink spoke at a discussion on air quality at the American Center headquarters in Hanoi on the afternoon of January 25.
Ambassador Kritenbrink said the US delegation has set up air quality monitoring systems in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh cities, to provide air quality indicators for US employees and citizens in Vietnam.
`We are one of the first agencies to publish air quality data online for Vietnam and hope this effort will encourage other agencies to do the same,` said Mr. Kritenbrink.
Ambassador Kritenbrink said the US has had a lot of experience in solving air pollution problems for decades and wants to share that with Vietnam.
`As a friend of Vietnam, our intention and goal is to share the experiences that America has worked hard to gain, and at the same time cooperate with Vietnam so that we can have a
The US enacted the Clean Air Act in 1970 along with many proactive coordination measures at the federal and local levels.
Mr. Kritenbrink said that to solve the problem of air pollution, the Vietnamese government needs to invest more in environmental monitoring and enforcement of regulations, appropriate waste treatment, and replace fossil energy with fossil fuels.
Ms. Brittany Thomas, representative of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), also shared many activities of this organization with the US government, to support Vietnam in dealing with air pollution, such as the Clean program.
Ms. Le Thanh Thuy, Head of Project Management and Communications at the Hanoi Department of Environmental Protection, under the Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said the city has made positive moves to deal with pollution.
However, pollution in Hanoi has not yet decreased.
