Climate change challenges are increasingly demanding higher environmental responsibilities from every nation, organization, and business worldwide. Net Zero has become a common goal, and Vietnam is no exception. Alongside global enterprises, Vietnamese businesses are striving to find innovative solutions to minimize environmental impacts while creating economic value. The Net Zero race is not just a challenge but also an opportunity for businesses to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable development and integrate into the global trend of green business practices.
Climate change challenges are increasingly demanding higher environmental responsibilities from every nation, organization, and business worldwide. Net Zero has become a common goal, and Vietnam is no exception. Alongside global enterprises, Vietnamese businesses are striving to find innovative solutions to minimize environmental impacts while creating economic value. The Net Zero race is not just a challenge but also an opportunity for businesses to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable development and integrate into the global green business trend.
In 2023, 140 countries have set the goal of Net Zero, meaning businesses must offset their emissions to achieve zero net emissions. This ambitious but necessary goal is crucial to combating climate change. Vietnam, currently among the top 20 CO2 emitters globally, has seen its emissions double over the past decade.
The Vietnamese government has been focusing on environmental protection, with state budgets for the environment consistently exceeding 21 trillion VND annually over the past five years. However, public resources alone are insufficient to meet the growing challenges. Therefore, alongside prioritizing public resources, the government is actively mobilizing private and international resources, focusing on developing Green Finance and Carbon Markets.
The Green Finance Market provides financial products to fund environmental protection projects, contributing to the nation’s green growth strategy. Vietnam has initiated actions to kick-start and develop green finance, exemplified by the approval of the National Green Growth Action Plan 2014-2020 and the National Green Growth Strategy 2021-2030, vision 2050.
The Carbon Market, which involves trading greenhouse gas emission allowances, is key to implementing Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and the Paris Agreement on climate change. The development of these markets offers opportunities for businesses and investors to engage in environmental protection, promoting green growth and climate change mitigation.
Vietnam will halt the construction of new coal-fired power plants post-2030 to reduce carbon emissions and meet the COP 26 Net Zero commitment. With the approval of national strategies on climate change and green growth, the government demonstrates its commitment to sustainable development. Over the past year, Vietnam has focused on completing policy mechanisms, an essential step in implementing its commitments.
Vietnam has focused on improving policy mechanisms to achieve its Net Zero commitment by 2050. The government has issued important regulations such as:
Additionally, Vietnam has adopted an action plan to reduce methane emissions by 2030 and a climate change strategy up to 2050. Reviewing and updating the 2022 NDC, incorporating the Net Zero commitment, is a crucial part of these efforts. Other related documents have also been issued to ensure consistency and effectiveness in implementing Vietnam's environmental and climate change commitments.
In implementing climate change regulations and the goal of Net Zero emissions, Dr. Ha Quang Anh, Director of the Low Carbon Development Center at the Department of Climate Change, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, emphasized the responsibility of businesses. He shared that to meet these requirements, businesses need to have a deep understanding of climate change and the government's commitment to the Net Zero goal.
Dr. Ha Quang Anh also highlighted the importance of preparing financial, scientific, technological, and technical resources to transition production towards low-carbon development. This is considered a crucial and practical step to meet future requirements. Businesses can turn awareness into specific actions, drawing examples from major Vietnamese companies that have early recognized and developed strategies for emission reduction and carbon neutrality. Simultaneously, businesses need to plan resources for greenhouse gas inventories, proposing, and managing mitigation activities.
Thus, businesses should quickly study the impact of emissions from their production activities. Once the impact level is understood, businesses can swiftly strategize actions, creating competitive advantages and leaving a positive impression on investors, shareholders, customers, and stakeholders.
