World Bank okays financial support for Vietnam green growth in 2022-2025

The World Bank has agreed to update the Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Vietnam in the 2022-2025 period.

Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (L) and World Bank Managing Director of Operations Axel van Trotsenburg on Oct 2. Photo: VNA

World Bank Managing Director of Operations Axel van Trotsenburg said at the meeting with Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Oct 2 on the occasion of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) held in Glasgow, the UK.

The three-year framework will enable the two sides to define resources, priority areas, projects, and implementation roadmap of sustainable growth.

Axel van Trotsenburg pledged to continue supporting assisting Vietnam in building macroeconomic policies, accessing financial sources for green and inclusive growth in the context of the global flexible adaptation to Covid-19 and economic recovery.

In June 2021, the World Bank affirmed its support to Vietnam’s recovery efforts by approving two development policy operations (DPOs), totaling US$321.5 million.

These DPOs are designed to support the central government, and Vietnam’s biggest business hub, Ho Chi Minh City, in improving urban management and promoting a recovery that is inclusive, digitally transformative, and sustainable.

Part of the DPOs will help Ho Chi Minh City mitigate climate vulnerabilities, through improved transparency on climate-informed land zoning, expanded drainage coverage, and the expected modal shift from private transport to less carbon-intensive public transport.

Financing for these DPOd comes from the International Development Association (IDA) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).

For his part, Chinh thanked the World Bank for its non-refundable assistance worth US$6.2 million and support Vietnam’s debt repayment to serve the anti-pandemic fight.

He affirmed that green growth and sustainable development are consistent strategies that Vietnam has been pursuing.

To continue the inclusive economy, Vietnam has issued the National Green Growth Strategy in the 2021-2030 period and vision to 2050 with an aim to restructure the economy towards carbon neutrality and environmentally friendly development and contribute to the global common goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Vietnam’s National Green Growth Strategy for the next ten years will continue to improve the green growth institutions and policies, adjust and improve the scale of deployment on the basis of periodic monitoring and evaluation, and expand the pilot scale and replication of master plans, programs, and key projects.

It will also expand training and development of human resources for the development of a green economy, conduct environmental audits at all levels (national, sectoral, local, and enterprise) and implement green accounting in enterprises, and accelerate the process of economic restructuring according to the green economy model.

Vietnam’s rapid growth and industrialization have had detrimental impacts on the environment and natural assets.  

The government is working to lower the environmental footprint of the country’s growth and effectively mitigate and adapt to climate change. Key strategies and plans to stimulate green growth and sustainable use of its natural assets are in place.

The World Bank’s Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Vietnam aims to make the country-driven model more systematic, evidence-based, selective, and focused on the Bank’s twin goals of ending extreme poverty and increasing shared prosperity in a sustainable manner.

The CPF Vietnam in 2018-2022 has been prepared based on analysis and conclusions in Vietnam 2035 that themed “Toward Prosperity, Creativity, Equity, and Democracy”.

The CPS has three pillars, including strengthening Vietnam’s competitiveness in the regional and global economy, increasing the sustainability of the country’s development, and broadening access to economic and social opportunities.