EU helps Vietnam develop green energy

Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh speaks at the Vietnam Energy Partnership Group launching ceremony - Photo: baocongthuong

Tight cooperation

Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh thanked the EU for supporting Vietnam’s efforts to implement its energy security goals. He said ambassadors and representatives of many countries have participated in the socioeconomic development process, as well as in national efforts and the implementation of international commitments to promote sustainable development.

“I’m happy to see the energy partnership between the EU and the MoIT and their joint efforts to boost cooperation in major areas, from increasing dialogues with concerned parties and promoting renewable energy resources to restructuring the Vietnamese energy sector,” Minister Tran Tuan Anh said.

Ambassador Bruno Angelet, Head of the EU Delegation to Vietnam, said, “Sustainable energy development is a key objective for Vietnam’s economy and we are strongly committed to make the best of our efforts to help Vietnam in addressing this important challenge. This requires a comprehensive approach, taking into consideration the socioeconomic development goals of the country. Achieving a greener economy through sustainable energy is good for Vietnam and therefore good for us all.”

Five goals

On the sidelines of the meeting, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Spain, England and Vietnam signed a joint statement on promoting cooperation in sustainable energy development.

The joint statement reaffirms the EU’s strong support for Vietnam’s efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7, which calls for “access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”, and Sustainable Development Goal 13, which calls for “urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts”. The goals were adopted at the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Summit on September 25, 2015.

The EU and 11 member countries will endeavor to implement the following five goals:

(1) Further increasing dialogue with concerned parties to promote clean, renewable energy resources and energy efficiency for all citizens.

(2) Providing technical support for Vietnam to achieve goals enacted in national strategies, refine its policies, promote and prepare relevant capacity development projects, including identifying innovation needs for clean energy technologies, and provide technical knowledge transfer between the EU and Vietnam, with a particular focus on renewable energy.

(3) Helping Vietnam identify and bring forward potential energy projects that could be financed with the assistance of development partners, in order to increase the provision of and access of the population to modern and low-carbon energy services.

(4) Helping enhance Vietnam’s access to off-grid solutions.

(5) Promoting the mobilization of the private sector, as well as associations and nongovernmental organizations in the field of energy, through organizing business forums, industrial attachment programs, and other strategic capacity building activities to inform and attract the private sector and financing institutions towards sustainable energy investments in Vietnam.

Minister Tran Tuan Anh pledged that Vietnam would create a favorable legal framework for modern and sustainable energy development with a substantial contribution by renewable energy to the generation mix. The country will also continue implementing legislative and regulatory reforms, establishing an appropriate environment to promote private sector investment in the energy sector while encouraging the phasing-out of market distorting subsidies and subsidies that finance fossil fuels, and supporting economically viable business models.