How can the promises made at COP 26 be maintained?

DNHN - Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc said at a workshop called "The Impact of COP26 on Energy Transition Towards Green Growth," which was co-chaired by the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, that Vietnam is working hard to move its economy toward green growth. However, to be successful and well implement its commitments at COP 26, Vietnam needs comprehensive and synchronous coordination from all stakeholders.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc said that the goals and targets set out in the Socio-Economic Development Strategy 2021-2030 need to be put into action if the country wants to grow quickly and in a way that is good for the environment. In it, the Ministry of Planning and Investment advised the Prime Minister to announce the National Green Growth Strategy for 2021–2030, with an eye toward 2050, in October 2021, right before COP 26 and then on the 22nd. The National Action Plan on Green Growth (TTX) for the years 2021–2030 was one of the most important events in July 2022.

There are 18 groups of topics, 57 groups of tasks and activities, and 134 specific tasks and activities in the National Greenhouse Action Plan. These are all meant to help reach four important goals of the Strategy: 1) Reducing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions per dollar of GDP; 2) Greening economic sectors; 3) Greening lifestyles and encouraging sustainable consumption; and 4) Greening the transition based on the principles of equality, inclusion, and resilience.

For a green and sustainable energy transition, the National Greenhouse Strategy for the years 2021–2030 emphasizes the following goals: "Improve energy efficiency and efficiency, reduce energy consumption in manufacturing, transportation, commercial, and industrial activities; ensure national energy security in the direction of synchronous development of energy sources, exploiting and economically using domestic energy sources, and transforming the structure of energy so that it meets the needs of the future."

The Deputy Minister stressed that this is a "comprehensive and overall orientation" for changing the energy industry to help reach the national goal of reducing emissions.

Co-chair of the workshop and representative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Deputy Minister Dang Hoang An, said that Vietnam is always proactive and responsible to the rest of the world when it comes to global issues. This was shown by Vietnam's strong participation and commitment at the COP26 Conference in the UK. Vietnam's plans for a low-carbon economy and green growth in the next ten years include committing to net-zero emissions by 2050 and taking part in the Global Declaration on the transition from coal power to clean energy.

According to Deputy Minister Hoang An, over the past few months, the Government, the Prime Minister, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade have been studying, advising, and proposing to build and improve mechanisms and policies to develop the energy industry in line with the Ministry of Industry and Trade's needs and the commitments Vietnam made at COP26.

The draft National Power Development Plan for the years 2021 to 2030, with a view to 2045, is one of the most important documents (Power Plan VIII). Under the direction of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has come up with many scenarios and plans to adjust and update the Draft Power Master Plan VIII in the direction of gradually decreasing reliance on coal-fired power plants and giving high priority to coal-fired power plants to develop renewable energy with a reasonable structure and distribution.

The draft of Power Master Plan VIII is being looked at right now, and the Prime Minister will sign it soon. So, the Government of Vietnam is pushing for the process of reorganizing the energy industry, which will be done in a way that builds on the country's resources while getting more help and cooperation from development partners. Multilateral and bilateral ways of working together are very important to the growth of Vietnam's energy sector and the economy as a whole.

The Deputy Minister said that for growth-oriented development, the energy industry must meet the following requirements: I Ensure national energy security in the medium and long term to meet development goals. development; (ii) Figure out the best and most sustainable way for the country to use energy; (iii) work hard to get people to invest in energy infrastructure; (iv) get rid of bottlenecks and encourage the development of cleaner, greener, and renewable energy sources. (v) Make the economy even more energy efficient and use less energy and electricity. At the same time, it is important to make sure that all social groups and classes of people can access and benefit from sustainable energy development policies at a reasonable cost. Pay special attention to vulnerable social groups, people with low incomes, and policy beneficiaries.

Rahul Kitchlu, an expert at the World Bank (WB), said that Vietnam's commitments at COP 26, along with those of other countries, are important for the whole world. Vietnam is one of the top countries for renewable energy. It has more than 20 GW of renewable energy and has attracted 17 billion USD in private investment in the past two years. Mr Rahul Kitchlu said that Vietnam has advantages in the transition to green growth, even though it faces many problems. He also said that the international community and the World Bank are ready to help Vietnam with its energy transition. As part of the support, international knowledge and experiences will be shared, and low-cost capital will be used to help Vietnam switch to green energy in an efficient and long-term way.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc emphasized four things at the end of the workshop:

One is that changing how energy is used is an inevitable trend and the best choice for social, economic, and environmental development that is sustainable. Vietnam is a developing country with few resources, but it has taken real steps toward its goal of zero net emissions by 2020. This is the right way to go, and it is possible and best in the long run. To make this orientation a reality, however, it is very hard to make changes that are proportional in all ways, including institutions, resources (financial and human), and awareness.

Second, changing energy from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy is important, but so is making sure that energy is used as efficiently as possible. So, based on what the delegates said, Vietnam needs to develop the structure of energy sources and plans to change the structure of these resources on a national and local scale. At the same time, it needs to clarify the conditions for this energy structure change to be as effective as possible.

Third, in this process of turning energy into something else Vietnam needs help and support from international organizations, development partners, businesses, and corporations to become a developed country. Vietnam will try to get the most out of the help and turn it into a responsible development engine for the rest of the world.

Fourth, today's conference has brought up questions about public and private resources, how to make investment decisions, what level of socio-economic discount rate to use, a new playing field, and a new game to move NetZero forward. As the delegate said, it will set out the roles and responsibilities of the government, ministries, sectors, and localities, especially the business community and society as a whole. That is how the national action plan on green growth is put into action in a good way. And for development partners, commercial banks and energy brokerage companies play an especially important role in making sure that developing countries like Vietnam have a lot of potentials to reduce emissions and have access to technology and resources for putting those plans into action.

The Deputy Minister stressed that for this energy transformation to work, there needs to be a lot of political will and coordination between all the relevant parties.

Thao Anh