No charging stations, no one buys 'green cars'

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, promoting green growth is an urgent trend, a driving force for economic growth as well as the key to improving national competitiveness in the context of international integration.

In the green growth journey, ESG (environment, society and governance) is a set of standards to measure and evaluate the sustainable development of enterprises. Many economic experts believe that ESG is a new game about corporate responsibility to society.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment is coordinating with ministries and branches to develop incentive mechanisms and policies for businesses in the green transition process.

Sharing at the workshop "Finding growth momentum from ESG" recently held in Hanoi, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc emphasized: "Large enterprises all integrate ESG criteria in the development process and this is a mandatory game for enterprises if they want to go long term".

In fact, ESG practices as well as the implementation of sustainable business models and green growth in general are not only a trend but also a requirement. Many of Vietnam's major trade and investment partners now have strict requirements on this issue.

Specifically, the EU has forced exporters to this market to pay a tax corresponding to the price of emissions allowances. Many countries and territories in Asia such as Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and the Philippines have required public companies to disclose their ESG performance or required businesses to conduct sustainability reports.

According to Matthew Smith, Research Director of Yuanta Securities Vietnam, the factors driving ESG practices globally first come from policies requiring all market participants to allocate capital to ESG. Financial institutions and institutional investors need to devote investment resources to the ESG field, and businesses must also invest in ESG to comply with regulations...

Building mechanisms and policies to encourage green conversion

Analyzing in depth the story of businesses applying ESG to contribute to the national green transformation process, Ms. Bui Thu Thuy, Deputy Director of the Department of Enterprise Development (Ministry of Planning and Investment), said: "We assess that many businesses are aware of the necessity of ESG, but how and where to start, and where to get resources from are still many challenges.

Businesses wonder whether there will be any benefits after applying ESG, or if they spend money but don't know what to get in return.

Regarding green transformation, Ms. Thuy said that in terms of macro aspects such as plans, national strategies, and orientations, at the level of the Government's action program, each ministry, industry, and enterprise must see what they have to do in that "picture".

The Ministry of Planning and Investment is submitting to the Prime Minister a set of national green classification criteria. That means from the system of economic sectors, clearly defining what is green. For example, in the same transport sector, what standards and criteria are used to determine whether a business or project is green or not?

Ms. Thuy added that the Ministry of Planning and Investment is coordinating with ministries and branches to develop incentive mechanisms and policies.

"For example, with VinFast or the electric vehicle sector, will the Government take any action to support charging stations? Will localities reserve land and locations for businesses to build charging stations? Because without charging stations, consumers will not buy or use green cars.

These are very related things. At the macro level, if the Government does not provide guidance, businesses can still decide to invest, but it will be very difficult and take a long time to achieve their goals," said the leader of the Enterprise Development Department.

According to Bloomberg, by 2022, global ESG assets will be around $30 trillion and this number will double by 2030. All institutional investors have a strategy to allocate investment capital to ESG.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/khong-co-tram-sac-thi-khong-ai-mua-xe-xanh-185240523171801077.htm