Vietnam: New draft circular on control of GHG and ODS 
On July 8, 2021, the Vietnamese Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) released the Draft Circular on Guidelines for a Number of Articles of the Law on Environmental Protection Concerning the Responses to Climate Change (hereinafter the “draft circular”). The draft circular provides details on Articles 90 to 92 of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 governing climate change responses, greenhouse gas reduction and ozone depleting substances, as well as Articles 10, 11, and 30 of the Draft Decree on Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Ozone depleting Substances, which is currently under discussion, governing the testing of greenhouse gases and the collection, recycling, reuse and disposal of regulated substances (hereinafter the “draft decree”).
The draft circular can be downloaded at:
http://chinhphu.vn/portal/page/portal/chinhphu/congdan/DuThaoVanBan?_piref135_27935_135_27927_27927.mode=detail&_piref135_27935_135_27927_27927.id=4385
Mandatory review on greenhouse gas testing results at a facility level
As stipulated in the draft decree, facilities that emit greenhouse gases equivalent to 3,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) or more must conduct greenhouse gas testing. The details of the target facilities regulated by the draft decree are stipulated in Annex 1 of the draft decree. Results of greenhouse gas testing shall be reviewed by the responsible authority. According to the draft circular, the matters to be reviewed are as follows.
- Scope and boundaries of the activities conducted by the facility
- Infrastructure, technology and all activities owned by the facility
- Sources and sinks of greenhouse gases and types of greenhouse gases emitted from the facility
- Amount of greenhouse gases emitted from the facility if no measures/technologies for reduction of such gases are taken (estimated value)
The data collected in the course of the review will be treated as confidential information and will not be disclosed without the consent of the facility concerned.
Lists of regulated substances and instruction for their use
The draft circular includes the following lists for the regulated substances:
| Name of list | Annex to be referred |
| List of ozone depleting substances banned for manufacture, import and use | Annex III.1 |
| List of ozone depleting substances subject to conditional control in accordance with the Montreal Protocol | Annex III.2 |
| List of greenhouse gas substances subject to conditional control in accordance with the Montreal Protocol | Annex III.3 |
| List of products, equipment and goods containing ozone depleting substances subject to control in accordance with the Montreal Protocol | Annex III.4 |
These lists provide details of the listed substances such as their names, chemical formulas, refrigerant numbers, ozone depletion potentials (ODPs), global warming potentials (GWPs), HS codes, and instructions for use.
Collection, transportation, reuse, recycling and disposal of substances subject to ozone depleting substance and greenhouse gas regulations
Control rules for the substances subject to ozone depleting substance and greenhouse gas regulations are set forth in Articles 19 to 21 of the draft circular, each of which is outlined below.
| Controlled activities | Details |
| Collection and transportation of substances subject to ozone depleting substance and greenhouse gas regulations (Article 19) |
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| Reuse and recycling of substances subject to ozone depleting substance and greenhouse gas regulations (Article 20) |
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| Disposal of substances subject to ozone depleting substance and greenhouse gas regulations (Article 21) |
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Labeling of regulated substances and products and equipment containing regulated substances
Manufacturers of equipment and products containing regulated substances must affix a label showing information on the regulated substances. This label must contain the following information in Vietnamese:
- Manufacturer’s name and logo
- Identifiable symbol of the product/equipment
- Lot number
- Year of manufacture
- Design value for pressure or maximum allowable pressure
- Information on regulated substances (symbols, classifications, safety warnings, etc.)
Products and equipment containing any of regulated substances with flammability of A2 or A3 level as defined in the National Technical Standard QCVN 6739:2015 on Refrigerants shall be labeled in accordance with the Decree No. 87/2018/ND-CP on Gas Trade and the National Technical Standard QCVN 02:2019/BCT on Safety of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Service Stations. In addition, imported products and equipment containing regulated substances shall also comply with the labeling requirements.
