GGGI points the way to green future

The GGGI, in partnership with the MPI and stakeholders, have issued a draft five-year green partnership strategy

Last week, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) and GGGI unveil a draft five-year partnership strategy to help Vietnam achieve rapid green economic growth. This strategy, the GGGI Vietnam Country Planning Framework (CPF), outlines three main objectives, including:

Firstly, green growth should be integrated into socio-economic planning strategies to ensure the economy expands while protecting environmental integrity.

Secondly, public and private finance should be channeled towards energy, transportation and industrial infrastructure that is environmentally sound.

Thirdly, Vietnam’s rapidly growing cities should meet citizens’ needs by promoting sustainable production and consumption of energy and natural resources.

Notably, the CPF will support Vietnam’s government to implement necessary improvements to the existing institutional and policy framework to mainstream green growth objectives into development planning. This includes support to adopt a national-level strategy for urban green growth, and develop new provincial bankable projects in key sectors like wastewater and clean energy.

Vietnam is recognised as one of top five countries most likely to be impacted by climate change. It is estimated that Vietnam suffered an annual loss of around 1.5 per cent of its GDP during 2001-2010 due to increased flooding, rising sea levels, and weather-related impacts on agriculture from climate change.

“With nearly 90 per cent of projected increases in greenhous gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 stemming from Vietnam’s energy production and consumption, it is crucial to support the government of Vietnam to scale up the production of green energy and energy efficiency measures,” said GGGI Vietnam country representative Adam Ward.

In late September 2015, Vietnam submitted its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Vietnam’s INDC identifies the GHG reduction pathway in the 2021-2030 period. With local resources, GHG emissions will be reduced by 8 per cent by 2030 compared to the “Business as Usual” scenario. The above-mentioned contribution could be increased up to 25 per cent with international support.

“GGGI will support Vietnam to bridge the gap in the INDC between their unconditional (8 per cent) and conditional targets (25 per cent). Vietnam’s government requires technical assistance on best practices for specific renewable energy technologies and benchmarking for technology efficiency,” Ward said.

“GGGI has played a big role in supporting Vietnam to achieve targets in the national green growth strategy, and gradually shifting to the development of clean energy,” said Pham Hoang Mai, director general of the MPI’s Department for Science, Education, Natural Resources and Environment.

According to the MPI, the draft CPF can align with the government’s five-year Socio-Economic Development Plan. Through executing the CPF, GGGI will help Vietnam to allocate resources more effectively, for example, by ensuring financing is consistent with the GGGI-developed guidelines for green investment.

Mai stressed that the MPI would continue co-operating with GGGI in finding financial and technical support from the international community, so that Vietnam can adopt and scale-up clean and efficient energy technologies.

Head quartered in Seoul, GGGI aims to promote green growth. GGGI’s work in Vietnam dates back to 2012, when the country adopted its “National Strategy on Green Growth for the period 2011- 2020 with vision to 2050”. GGGI has supported Vietnam’s efforts to identify and effectively develop bankable green growth investment opportunities, and to customise an urban green growth strategy for Vietnam’s cities. This work builds in the GGGI-UN-HABITAT green growth strategy for the central city of Danang. Working with UNDP and the MPI, GGGI has developed a set of investment guidelines to ensure development projects and private financing achieve green growth objectives.

In partnership with the Vietnam National Mekong Committee, GGGI has also initiated a project to support of green growth policies and investment for the water sector in the Mekong Delta region.