UN chief Guterres meets Vietnamese Prime Minister in Hanoi

A "new wave of repression" in Vietnam is jeopardising progress in tackling climate change, human rights groups told UN chief Antonio Guterres as he began a visit to Hanoi.

Vietnam, which has an economy heavily reliant on coal, has committed to reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

But its authoritarian government has also handed down prison terms to four environmental human rights defenders this year, sentencing them on "trumped-up" charges of tax evasion, the rights organisations said in an open letter to Guterres.

"These political prisoners are emblematic victims of a new wave of repression in Vietnam which, through a combination of threats and judicial harassment, is threatening progress in combating climate change," read the letter, signed by 15 rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

Guterres, who is in the capital to mark the 45th anniversary of Vietnam joining the UN, warned in July that humanity was facing "collective suicide" over the climate crisis.

At a ceremony commemorating the 45th anniversary of the country's accession to the UN, Guterres reminded Vietnam of its obligations "to ensure respect for fundamental freedoms including of expressions of association, to protect civil society".

It should work "to bring these rights to life and to ensure the full engagement from journalists, human rights defenders to environmental advocates."