Vietnam to release national green criteria

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will soon submit to the Prime Minister a set of national green criteria to guide ministries and sectors in developing industry-specific green rating systems, according to the latest decision by Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha at a meeting on June 10.

An overview of the event. Photo: VGP

The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that environmental criteria are crucial for Vietnamese companies that want to go international and attract foreign investment. He suggested several challenges that need to be addressed in developing a national green economy system, including the political and legal foundation, content, perception, and approach to existing and emerging green industries.

He went on to say that the goal of incorporating green criteria into the national economic system is to put into practice green and circular economy strategies, plans and legislation. A green classification system seeks to introduce green criteria into the current economic system through the inclusion of some new economic activities, such as investment in and restoration of the natural environment, the application of new technologies in the provision of environmental services, and renewable energy.

At the meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister also tasked the Ministry of Planning and Investment to develop a national statistical system for monitoring and evaluating the green economy, focusing on key indicators such as energy intensity, emission intensity and green expenditure.

Reporting to the Deputy Prime Minister at the working session, Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment, said that a national green economy system is the basic framework and foundation for each industry and sector to develop their own criteria in the form of appendix lists. The lists will be developed in line with Vietnam's economic sector system, consulting and learning from the classification lists of other countries around the world.

She added that a green classification system would support and evaluate the greening of the economy through statistical monitoring and reporting of public and/or private expenditures and investments for green growth, based on specific criteria in line with international best practices.

"This serves as a fundamental basis for developing policies to promote and support green transformation and to regulate and encourage investment flows into activities that contribute to environmental and green growth objectives," she emphasized.

Vietnam's draft national green economy system has been developed by referencing and learning from global standard lists while adapting them to Vietnamese practices, according to the deputy minister. The national green economy system does not overlap or conflict with the green certification framework being developed by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

Ngoc said a national green economy system plays a crucial role and must be considered for issuance immediately as a basis for developing technical criteria for green classification by industry and sector. This will create the legal framework for the application and implementation of mechanisms and policies to promote green growth.