Project News

SPI-NDC implemented a seminar entitled "Accelerating Business Engagement in the Pathway of Vietnam's NDC and Net Zero Emission" in Ho Chi Minh City on June 30th 2022. This seminar was organized jointly with Department of Climate Change (DCC) in the Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment (MONRE) and Vietnam Chamber of Commers and Industry (VCCI). The seminar aimed to accelerate business sector's engagement into climate mitigation action and more than 140 participants joined from line ministries as well as private enterprises.

As opening remarks, Dr. Nguyen Tuan Quang, deputy director general of DCC, MONRE, Mr. Nguyen Tien Huy from VCCI and Ms. Junko Nishikawa from Ministry of Environment Japan provided comments.

Dr. Nguyen Tuan Quang DDG of DCC, MONRE

Mr. Nguyen Tien Huy from VCCI

Ms. Junkon Nishikawa joined virtually from Tokyo

Following the opening remarks, Mr. Luong Quang Huy from DCC, MONRE provided his presentation of "Update regulation related on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emission (Law on Environmental Protection 2020, Decree No.06/2022/ND-CP, Circular No. 01/2022/TT-BTNMT) and other regulations being developed towards net zero emissions by 2050". Law on Environment Protection (LEP) in Vietnam has been revised in 2020, and Decree No.06/2022/ND-CP has been promulgated in 2021 with highlighting climate change. This presentation focused on facility level GHG reporting starting from 2023 under the LEP and the Decree, which is also connected to establishment of carbon market in the future. "Each large emitting facility is requested to prepare for GHG reporting. This should not be only challenges or burdens to the enterprises, but also be chances by knowing the emission data by yourself" expressed by Mr. Huy.

Mr. Huy from DCC (left) and Mr. Fukuda from SPI-NDC (right)

Following Mr. Huy's presentation, Mr. Koji Fukuda, chief technical advisor of SPI-NDC provided a Presentation: "Introduction of Support Schemes to Facilitate Private Sector's Participation in reducing GHG emission". Mr. Fukuda explained that progress of formulating climate policy framework compatible with the Paris Agreement in Viet Nam has been observed, and private sector's engagement is crucial in its implementation phase. Thus, SPI-NDC plans to provide activities aiming at encouraging private sectors' actions toward reducing GHG emission. In addition, SPI-NDC will also work for creating incentives to private sector for taking climate mitigation action such as supporting formulation of new project in NDC implementation in private sector.

After Mr. Fukuda's presentation, Ms. Holly Bosktock, Corporate Affairs Director in HEINEKEN shared their efforts toward carbon neutral. Heineken sets the target of zero GHG emission in scope 1 and 2 by 2030, and also sets a target of carbon neutral in scope 3 by 2040. In addition, prior to their international strategy, HEINEKEN aims to Net Zero by 2025 in Vietnam where 52% of energy consumption has been covered by renewable energy and HEINEKEN Vietnam plans to increase the rate.

Ms. Holly Bosktock from HEINEKEN

Following Ms. Hollys's presentation, Mr. Jens Radschinski from Regional Collaboration Centre for Asia and the Pacific (RCC Bangkok), United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) provided a presentation on "Integrate GHG emission reduction into production and business /perspective" virtually. Mr. Jens explained that the article 6 in the Paris Agreement is directly related to investment, and shared the information that Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action is a corporation platform for parties of the Paris agreement and non-Party Stakeholders including business sector. Marrakech Partnership provides "Race to Zero" campaign and awards local governments and private enterprises where sets their GHG reduction targets, and more than 7,000 organizations join. In addition, Mr. Jens also emphasized carbon pricing is not only one of the effective methods to achieve GHG emission reduction, but also provides positive impacts to energy security.

Following the presentations, panel discussion session was held with facilitation by Mr. Fukuda from SPI-NDC. Mr. Huy (DCC), Mr. Pham Hoang Hai partnership coordinator from VBCSD, Ms. Ly Thi Phuong Trang, CEO of Vietnam DAIKIN, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tron from INSEE and Mr. Naomichi Murooka, senior representative from JICA Vietnam office joined the discussion.

In the discussion part, the following points were exchanged.

DAIKIN (Ms. Ly Thi Phuong Trang)

• Daikin also set a target of net zero emission between 2025 and 2050, which is the same as the goal set by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh for Vietnam. DAIKIN aims to reduce GHG emission by utilizing energy saving technology in whole products' life-cycle.
• As a result, in 2020 and 2021, our products won the title of the most high-efficiency AC in Vietnam. We are very honored to receive the award and try to keep it up.

HEINEKEN (Ms. Holly Bostock)

• There are several challenges on reducing GHG emission in Vietnam, but having steps of try and learn with new technology and practice is also important.
• We need two types of energy; thermos and electricity. As comparison with international practice, it is difficult to access thermos energy while in Vietnam, it is not challenging to access it since we can use biomass here, so it is better to consider how to utilize.

INSEE (Ms. Nguyen Thi Tron)

• Reducing CO2 emissions is one of the three main components of INSEE's sustainable development strategy
• INSEE Vietnam is a member of Siam City Cement in Bangkok, Thailand, but we are the unit with the lowest CO2 emission cement products in the Group and in the Asian region.

VCCI (Mr. Pham Hoang Hai)

• VCCI has collaborated with line Ministries, internarial partners. In addition, we have been collaborating with businesses leading in their fields, such as Heineken, Daikin, INSEE and many other enterprises that are members of VBCSD are sitting here.
• We have had Corporate Sustainability Index (CSI). since 2016. The Government allows VCCI to collaborate with MONRE, Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, Vietnam General Confederation of Labor (VGCL) to evaluate for business ranking. And in the CSI, there is approximately 30% related to the Environmental Protection.
• Those activities are practical and the mentioned roles above are the concrete roles of VCCI in supporting businesses, as well as in collaboration with the Government to support businesses

DCC (Mr. Luong Quang Huy)

• Greenhouse gas emission reduction activities in specific and the activities towards net zero in general, are not only for the action in greenhouse gas emission reduction, but for legal development, capacity building, and resource mobilization from the national level to business level as well.
• Taking action towards climate mitigation needs financial resource, but it cannot rely only on the Government or the State Budget, but needs to be socialized and mobilized from foreign investments and other economic parts.
• And how we can mobilize the financial resource will be discussed in the future dialogue. Thereby, the businesses can perceive that those activities are not only for competitiveness, but also for product quality, for their responsibilities, and finally, for the social community.
• From the Government's perspective, we hope that besides our efforts from issuing policies and technical guidance materials, the businesses also join hands for actual implementation, together with mobilization of other resources to ensure our conditions to achieve our targets in the near future.

JICA Vietnam Office (Mr. Naomichi Murooka)

• JICA provides several support schemes to encourage private sector. One concrete example is so-called Private Sector Investment Finance (so called PSIF). It is a scheme that provides loans and equity to directly support private enterprises around the world. In Vietnam, we have a good example of 144 MW onshore wind power project in Quang Tri of which loan agreement was signed in 2015 and we provide up to US$25 million under co-financing scheme with ADB and Export Finance Australia. Aside from PSIF, we also have different scheme called SDGs Business Supporting Surveys which is a proposal-based support program from private companies.
• The current focus on supporting training companies and enterprises to enhance capacity on GHG emission accounting and mitigation planning under the VCCI-MONRE partnership, and effort to explore potential future private sector project, I am convinced that through this joint collaboration to help those in the bottleneck who wish to participate in climate mitigation actions, but feeling difficulties. SPI-NDC will ease these challenges, and support enterprises to acerate their climate mitigation actions for achieving 2030 target and 2050 net zero target.

After the Q and A session with participants, Mr. Nguyen Tuan Quang, DDG of DCC, and Mr. Naomichi Murooka from JICA Vietnam office provided closing remarks, then the seminar ended.

More than 140 participants joined the seminar from various organization shows high interest of both governmental and private sectors in the theme. SPI-NDC will continue working on concrete project activities including training to private sector as well as pilot activities.

The achieved seminar video is uploaded in the below link. (Only discussion part with English transcription)

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2QTTBHlKl8 (external link)

the presentation materials are available in the following link. (English only)

• https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yQT5kQXUG_QBL1HxoLx2eA__uyWSB0E2/view?usp=sharing (external link)

At the final part of seminar, Mr. Quang from DCC and Mr. Murooka from JICA Vietnam Office provided closing remarks and the seminar ended.