MoIT kicks off 2050 Calculator Project

2050 Calculator was developed by the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change to assist the UK government’s greenhouse gas emission and global climate change mitigation efforts. The webtool has been transferred to 16 countries such as Japan, India, the Republic of Korea, and Thailand.

Tran Van Luong, Deputy Director of the Industrial Safety Techniques and Environment Agency under MoIT and Director of the 2050 Calculator Project, said, “2050 Calculator is an open source model of energy and emissions that can be used to identify a range of physically possible scenarios for the future with the aim of reducing emissions to tackle climate change and improve air quality. The project will be implemented from September 2015 until February 2017.”

The 2050 Calculator will allow anyone with an internet connection to explore how Vietnam can pursue low carbon growth over the coming decades whilst providing enough energy to meet the county’s needs. It brings the story around low carbon development alive, showing the benefits, costs and trade-offs of different versions of the future. It allows the user to openly challenge long-held beliefs on what is possible, and encourages a debate based on facts and analysis, not just opinion.

According to Hoang Van Tam, Head of the Office at the Industrial Safety Techniques and Environment Agency, the 2050 Calculator has many advantages compared with other tools. It allows users to see energy options and emission scenarios on the same calculator; have a look at energy security, air quality and land use problems and propose possible solutions. This webtool is easy to use and allows access to original data. The national version of the Vietnam 2050 Calculator was built in accordance with the conditions found in Da Nang. It has Vietnamese language options and local experts will be provided with training to build and operate provincial versions of the webtool.

Da Nang City People’s Committee Vice chairman Nguyen Ngoc Tuan said drafting energy and greenhouse gas emission policies was a strategic task to help Da Nang cope with climate change. He believes the 2050 Calculator would be useful for the city and help it promote green growth in the future.

First Secretary Andrew Holt who is responsible for economics and politics at the British Embassy said the 2050 Calculator Project provided the best example of cooperation between the UK and Vietnam. He believed the webtool would be helpful in Vietnam’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality.

The development of the Vietnam 2050 Calculator at a national level in 2014 showed that it required the direct participation of transport, energy, construction, agriculture, and forestry sectors. To develop the webtool at the provincial level, according to MoIT, the participation of provincial departments and concerned units is necessary.

Minh Ky