What does Vietnam need to do to achieve the Net Zero goal?

Leaders of many international organizations such as HSBC, WEF... highly appreciated the prospects of Vietnam's economy as well as the vision set forth by the head of the Vietnamese Government at COP28, in the roadmap to implement commitments on combating climate change.

Speaking to the press at the COP28 conference recently held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Mr. Noel Quinn, Global CEO of HSBC Group, said that he "very much appreciates and understands Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's vision in the roadmap to implement commitments on combating climate change".

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received Mr. Noel Quinn, Global CEO of HSBC Group, on the afternoon of December 2, within the framework of bilateral activities at COP28.

NORTH JAPAN

Mr. Noel Quinn also affirmed that HSBC will strive to contribute to the realization of that vision. HSBC is inspired by the national green transition plan and the bank will do its best to help Vietnam implement this path. Assessing Vietnam's economic prospects, Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Borge Brende said that Vietnam is known as one of the fastest growing countries in the world. Many famous companies have invested in Vietnam to produce goods and export. "We are quite optimistic about the prospects of the Vietnamese economy in the coming years," Mr. Brende shared. According to the WEF Chairman, despite facing impacts from geopolitical and geo-economic issues, Vietnam is still a well-developed country, with GDP growth of about 5% this year and will attract more investment next year. “Vietnam’s economy relies heavily on exports and external markets are important partners of Vietnam. A positive advantage is that Vietnam’s largest goods import partner, the US, continues to grow,” the WEF President assessed. Regarding recommendations for Vietnam, according to Mr. Brende, the world is developing digital services and technology very quickly. The digital economy accounts for about 50% of the global economy and is growing 2.5 times faster than all other industries. Therefore, Vietnam needs innovation and development in this field. This is a key factor for enhancing competitiveness in the future.

Challenges of capital, human resources...

One of the biggest commitments made by Vietnam at COP26 (Glasgow) is that Vietnam will bring net emissions to zero (Net Zero) by 2050. According to Mr. Dao Xuan Lai, Head of Climate Change, Environment and Energy of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), for Vietnam to achieve the Net Zero target, there are many challenges to overcome.

Prime Minister and President of the European Commission, UK Secretary of State approve resource mobilization plan to implement the JETP Declaration

THANH GIANG

Specifically, in terms of investment capital, to achieve net zero emissions, the entire economy must transform synchronously towards green, circular, low-carbon emissions, so the investment cost is very large. In particular, in the electricity sector alone, the investment capital until 2030 is 134.5 billion USD. Partner groups including the European Union (EU), the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Denmark and Norway (IPG) at COP28 approved a plan to mobilize resources of 15.5 billion USD within 3-5 years to implement the JETP Declaration. However, this is only a small contribution to the total financial resources needed for Vietnam's transition process. In addition, to achieve the Net Zero target, Vietnam also needs to address challenges in technology and human resources. UNDP experts recommend that Vietnam should focus on institutional reform, creating a more transparent and responsible investment environment in attracting high-quality capital flows from domestic and foreign private sectors, especially energy policies, financial mechanisms, reducing barriers and risks. In addition, it is necessary to promote technology development and transfer, international cooperation, especially in the fields of offshore wind power, solar panels, electricity storage, smart power transmission, etc. At the same time, focus on developing human resources for green economic sectors, renewable energy, circular economy, ensuring equitable transition when implementing equitable energy transition under JETP. According to Mr. Dao Xuan Lai, building an "affordable and reliable" electricity price mechanism in the transition to renewable energy is very necessary, especially for low-income households and other vulnerable groups.

Thanhnien.vn