Targeting green growth and a low carbon economy and enriching natural capital have become a key tendency in sustainable economic development and response to environmental degradation of many Asian countries, including Vietnam.
The “National strategy on green growth in the 2011-2020 period with vision until 2050” specifies that by 2020, Vietnam will reduce greenhouse gas emission intensity from 8-10 percent compared to the 2010 level, energy consumption per capital be reduced by 1-1.5 percent per year, cut greenhouse gas emissions in activities using energy from 10-20 percent compared with normal development plans, of which the voluntary level is about 10 percent and the remainder 10 percent to be obtained when receiving international aids.
By 2030, the greenhouse gas emissions each year will reduce at least by 1.5-2 percent, the greenhouse gas emission volumes in activities using energy will be cut from 20-30 percent compared with normal development plans, of which the voluntary level is about 20 percent and the remainder to be obtained when receiving international aids. By 2050, the greenhouse gas emission intensity will be reduced by 1.5-2 percent each year.
According to this strategy, Vietnam will green production processes, implement a “clean industrialisation” strategy through checking and adjusting plans of current sectors. It will also utilise natural resources economically and efficiently, encourage the development of green industries, agriculture with environmentally-friendly equipment and technology, develop natural capital, actively prevent and treat pollutions.
Over the past decade, each year climate change has caused damages worth about 2-6 percent of Vietnam’s GDP and the Government spent about 1 billion USD a year on climate change projects and programmes, including green growth through national target programmes plus projects and programmes directly related to climate change and green growth.
Since 1993, the Government has spent about 2 billion USD of official development assistance capital for the green growth related projects and programmes. In addition, international organisations and funds have also provided financial or technical aids such as the Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD+), the Vietnam Environment Protection Fund and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).
Vietnam’s national strategy on green growth has been highly appreciated and made a good contribution to implementing the national strategy on climate change.
However, many experts said financial allocations for green growth related projects and programmes remained scattered.
Meanwhile, Vietnam needs 30 billion USD to reduce greenhouse gas emission intensity from 8-10 percent compared to the 2010 level. In a bid to raise this source of capital, Vietnam needs to integrate the green and sustainable growth demand into its economic development program for five or 10 years and adopt suitable mechanism to raise capital, especially from the private sector and international partners.
At a recent conference on approaching financial resources for green growth and low emission development strategy in Hanoi, the head of the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Department of Science, Education, Natural Resources and Environment, said new ways to approach funding for green growth and respond to climate change in Vietnam have appeared to meet rising demand for public investment, ODA from international organisations and funds without active participation of the private sector. Therefore, in the future, Vietnam needs to carry out some pilot projects to encourage investors, especially the private sector to participate more actively in green growth.
A representative from the Ministry of Industry and Trade when addressing the seminar on adopting policies relating to green growth and climate change in Vietnam suggested that a regular coordinate mechanism needs to be drafted between related agencies; integrate climate change programs in plans and strategies. The state needs to ensure funding for green growth and low greenhouse gas emission so that the relevant ministries and sectors could be more initiative in setting up plans, especially allocating the funding for pilot investment works and low emissions technologies.
