Thirty Vietnamese localities implement green growth action plan

Photo: Bnews

The information was announced at a high-level seminar held by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) and the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Vietnam in Hanoi on October 11.

Entitled “Vietnam’s Green Growth Strategy: Pathways towards Implementing the Paris Agreement—Vietnam & the EU’s Experience,” the event was within the framework of the EU–Vietnam Strategic Dialogue Facility.

In his opening speech, MPI Deputy Minister Nguyen The Phuong said that Vietnam had become a party to the Paris climate agreement, which it approved at the COP21 in November 2015, committing to certain Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs). The government agencies and development partners then carried out different activities to promote the implementation of these commitments.

To date, five government ministries and almost 30 provinces and cities in Vietnam have developed and implemented their green growth action plans, while many localities and businesses have identified green growth as an important task to be pursued in various ways, such as by resource mobilisation, institutional and policy improvement, capacity strengthening and technological enhancement.

With the active involvement of various ministries and sectors, Vietnam’s draft INDC implementation plan is being finalised for submission to the government for consideration and approval, Deputy Minister Phuong said, adding that these efforts contributed to concretising Vietnam’s actions towards its goals for sustainable development by 2030.

At the seminar, Ambassador Bruno Angelet, Head of Delegation of the EU to Vietnam said that as a world leader in fighting climate change and in promoting green growth, the EU demonstrated economic growth could go hand in hand with the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and its partnership with Vietnam pursued the same objectives. He also stressed that the EU remained Vietnam’s best partner in this struggle.

Delegates at the event focused on discussing the Vietnam National Green Growth Strategy, in particular the cross-cutting issues with the fight against climate change and efforts since the Paris Agreement at COP21.

EU experts also shared their experience with decision-making and the implementation of Green Growth Strategies in Europe while exchanging views on strategies and their implementation in Vietnam and how to increase international support in the area of green growth.

They also addressed green growth at the strategic level involving the central authorities and compared strategic planning at the level of the EU and the Government of Vietnam covering areas such as green industry and renewable energies, green cities and green construction and green finance.

Participants also outlined the strategic planning in Europe and European support for strategic planning and its implementation in Vietnam, including the private sector’s role and European enterprises’ contributions to green growth./.

Source: NDO