Speaking on the occasion of World Environment Day (June 5) in Vinh Yen City, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai affirmed the entire nation should take steps to get more actively engaged in protecting the environment.

The Deputy PM emphasized the need to raise public awareness about conservation of the natural ecosystem and urged businesses to apply environmentally friendly technologies to nurture a green economy.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the ecosystem in the earth has been degraded seriously as a result of a growing population and pressures from the economic development process.With the current consumption and production patterns and a growing global population of 9.6 billion, it is forecast that there should be three earths to meet people’s consumer demands by 2050.

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Nguyen Minh Quang said people should take action to more effectively deal with the environmental challenges of an industrialized society.

He also underscored the importance of changing their shopping and consumer habits to purchasing more environmentally friendly products.