Vietnam announces national strategy to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 
On July 26, 2022, Vietnam issued an official decision of the prime minister to approve a National Strategy for Addressing Climate Change through 2050 (Decision No. 896/QD-TTg). The final goal of the strategy is to achieve net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2050 by responding to climate change actively and effectively so that damage from climate change can be mitigated. The mid-term target for 2030 is to reduce the total greenhouse gas emissions to 43.5% below the business-as-usual (BAU) scenario level.
Targets are set for a variety of sectors. The most important ones are shown here.
Greenhouse gas reduction targets
By 2030, the strategy aims to reduce the total domestic greenhouse gas emissions to 43.5% below the BAU scenario level. The targets for different sectors are listed in the table below.
| Sector | Emissions reduction target |
|---|---|
| Energy | Reduce emissions by 32.6%, down to or below 457 million tons of CO2 equivalent. |
| Agriculture | Reduce emissions by 43.0%, down to or below 64 million tons of CO2 equivalent. |
| Forestry and land use | Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 70%, increase carbon absorption by 20% and achieve a negative greenhouse gas footprint with 95 million tons of CO2 equivalent more absorption than emissions. |
| Waste processing | Reduce emissions by 60.7%, down to or below 18 million tons of CO2 equivalent. |
| Industry | Reduce emissions by 38.3%, down to or below 86 million tons of CO2 equivalent. |
Facilities emitting 2,000 tons or more of CO2 equivalent annually must implement measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
By 2050, the strategy aims to achieve net-zero domestic greenhouse gas emissions by getting the emissions to reach a peak in 2035 and decrease rapidly after that. The targets for different sectors are listed in the table below.
| Sector | Emissions reduction target |
|---|---|
| Energy | Reduce emissions by 91.6%, down to or below 101 million tons of CO2 equivalent. |
| Agriculture | Reduce emissions by 63.1%, down to or below 56 million tons of CO2 equivalent. |
| Forestry and land use | Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90%, increase carbon absorption by 30% and achieve a negative greenhouse gas footprint with 185 million tons of CO2 equivalent more absorption than emissions. |
| Waste processing | Reduce emissions by 90.7%, down to or below 8 million tons of CO2 equivalent. |
| Industry | Reduce emissions by 84.8%, down to or below 20 million tons of CO2 equivalent. |
Facilities emitting 200 tons or more of CO2 equivalent annually must implement measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Greenhouse gas reduction measures
Main measures through 2030
-
- Develop and implement a plan to reduce methane gas emissions by 30% from the 2020 level by 2030.
- Develop and implement a plan to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
- From 2022, require facilities emitting 3,000 tons or more of CO2 equivalent annually to prepare a “greenhouse gas inventory”, while encouraging other facilities (public ones in particular) to do this, too.
- From 2026, implement greenhouse gas emission allowance allocation for facilities required to prepare a greenhouse gas inventory.
- Establish an online database of greenhouse gas inventories to measure, report and analyze greenhouse gas reduction.
- Develop a national standard for greenhouse gas emission indicators.
Main measures through 2025
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- Develop and implement a plan to reduce methane gas emissions by 40% from the 2030 level by 2050.
- Develop and implement a plan to control and eliminate greenhouse gases and ozone-depleting substances by 2050.
- Continue the plan to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
- From 2030, require facilities emitting 2,000 tons or more of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gases annually to prepare a greenhouse gas inventory; facilities emitting 500 tons or more from 2040; and facilities emitting 200 tons or more from 2050.
- Require every public facility to prepare a greenhouse gas inventory and implement greenhouse gas emissions reduction measures.
Besides these, other detailed measures for different sectors are set out in the national strategy.
The official decision of the prime minister to approve the strategy is available at
https://monre.gov.vn/Pages/phe-duyet-chien-luoc-quoc-gia-ve-bien-doi-khi-hau-giai-doan-den-nam-2050.aspx?cm=Tin%20chuy%C3%AAn%20ng%C3%A0nh
