Focus on economic development associated with the environment in the Red River Delta

Red River Delta Workshop on Economic Development Associated with Environmental Protection and Introducing the Provincial Green Index (PGI)

This is the information content exchanged at the Red River Delta Workshop on economic development associated with environmental protection and introducing the Provincial Green Index (PGI), organized by the Vietnam Federation of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in coordination with the People's Committee of Vinh Phuc province.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Vinh, Vice President of VCCI said: The general trend of the world is green development. Therefore, Vietnam's investment attraction in the coming time is also oriented towards greener, higher quality and technology, bringing higher added value to the economy. That requires localities to be proactive and creative in planning investment attraction policies, socio-economic development associated with environmental protection.

At the recent COP26 Conference, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh made a strong statement on the goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050. This demonstrates the great political commitment and determination of the Party and State of Vietnam in promoting economic transformation, contributing to solving the major global challenges of climate change and environmental issues today. This is an important next step in the strong integration process when Vietnam has become a proactive and active member of the world.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Vinh, Vice President of VCCI spoke at the Workshop.

At the workshop, Vice Chairman of Vinh Phuc Provincial People's Committee Vu Chi Giang said that over the years, the locality has always clearly recognized the importance of environmental protection in the province's development process, aiming to build a green environment alongside a strong and civilized socio-economy.

Accordingly, since the province was re-established, the Vinh Phuc provincial government has made many efforts to monitor and minimize the risk of environmental pollution from craft villages and the rapid development of industrial parks and clusters in the area.

"Vinh Phuc was honored to be in the top 10 provinces and cities with excellent economic management quality in 2022 (ranked 9/63 in the PGI Green Index) voted by VCCI. This result recognizes the efforts of the entire provincial political system and is also a great motivation for Vinh Phuc to continue to deploy and implement socio-economic development goals associated with environmental protection," Mr. Vu Chi Giang informed.

Ms. Vu Thi Kim Chi, Deputy Head of the Standing Committee of the Quang Ninh Provincial Investment Promotion Board, said that Quang Ninh is the largest coal-fired thermal power production center in the country. In order to fully promote the unique potentials of the locality and create a breakthrough in rapid and sustainable development, Quang Ninh has transformed its development method from "brown" to "green" in a sustainable direction based on three pillars, including: Nature, people and culture.

The province has issued a Plan to implement the National Strategy on Green Growth and a Plan to implement the results of the Green Growth Promotion Project. Every year, the province spends no less than 3% of the total local budget on environmental work. At the same time, it pays attention to using the funds collected from environmental protection fees and taxes.

Dr. Nguyen Phuong Bac, Director of the Institute for Socio-Economic Development Research of Bac Ninh province, said that economic development associated with environmental protection is also the goal that Bac Ninh province has been aiming for in recent years.

According to Mr. Pham Ngoc Thach, Deputy Head of the Legal Department of VCCI: To accompany localities in environmental protection and green growth, the Provincial Green Index (PGI) was first introduced in the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) Report 2022 published in April 2023. The PGI provides input information for policy making at the central and local levels, minimizing the negative impacts of climate change and environmental pollution on production, business activities and corporate sustainability.

If the PCI index is an index to measure and evaluate the quality of local economic management from the perspective of business practice, the PGI index is an index to evaluate and rank the quality of local environmental management from the perspective of business practice.

Ms. Dang Hong Hanh, Co-founder - CEO of Energy and Environment Consulting Joint Stock Company (VNEEC) said that to achieve the net-zero target by 2050, green growth is a complex task and requires the cooperation of many stakeholders and many levels, sectors, businesses and communities, in which the role of localities is essential.

Also at the Workshop, the presentations at the event affirmed that economic development associated with environmental protection, aiming at sustainable development is the trend of many countries in the world, including Vietnam. Accordingly, to achieve this goal, many localities are also actively integrating economic development policies associated with environmental protection.

Source: https://dttg.baotainguyenmoitruong.vn/quan-tam-phat-trien-kinh-te-gan-voi-moi-truong-tai-vung-dong-bang-song-hong-359535.html