Vietnam’s coal import to feed power plants in 2019 is estimated to reach 32 million tons, doubling that in 2018 and three times higher than that three years ago, according to Nikkei Asia Review.
Demand for low-grade coal with lower combustion efficiency is growing amid economic growth in Vietnam and other emerging Asian countries, placing another hurdle in the global race to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The coal is used to serve many thermal power plants run by local and foreign developers.
The country needs to develop thermal power to meet rapidly growing electricity demand.
Power demand in Vietnam is expected to continue rising with the US-China trade disputes prompting manufacturers to move their factories from China to Southeast Asia.
In Southeast Asia and India, coal-fired thermal power, whose generation costs are relatively low, has become a main source of electric power and the procurement of cheaper coal is increasing.
The International Energy Agency forecasts that global coal demand will rise by just under 1% from 2017 to 2030, to about 5.4 billion tons. While demand is expected to decline in Japan, the US, and Europe, demand in Southeast Asia and India is estimated to rise at double-digit rates.
As the Paris Agreement, an international framework for preventing global warming, is put into operation in 2020, criticism against the use of coal will become even more intense.
According to the Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, the country needs 54.3 million tons of coal in 2019, compared to 44.37 million in 2018.
The ministry said it would build specific programs on coal demand for power production with five-year and ten-year plans.
In another move, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has said that the country would not sacrifice the environment in the pursuit of economic growth, a message made in the context that Vietnam suffers worsening air pollution, water contamination, overflowing landfills, and climate change.
Phuc said at a teleconference on December 31, 2019 that economic development must go together with environmental protection and social development to ensure sustainable growth and prosperity.
