New National Strategy on Green Growth to be submitted to Prime Minister

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung emphasized this when chairing the Consultation Conference on building the National Strategy on Green Growth for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2045, towards 2050, on the afternoon of March 29.

Vietnam has proactively chosen a green growth model by issuing the National Strategy on Green Growth for the 2012-2020 period, with a vision to 2050, at the end of 2012 and implementing it specifically through the National Action Plan on Green Growth for the 2014-2020 period, with 4 main themes, 12 groups of activities and 66 action tasks, assigning responsibilities to agencies and organizations to preside over and coordinate implementation.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, after 8 years of implementation, the 2012-2020 Strategy has basically gone in the right direction and been implemented quite comprehensively. The implementation of the Strategy has achieved many outstanding achievements reflected in the contents of institutional building and awareness raising. A number of strategic goals have been achieved, and green investment has gradually accounted for an increasing proportion in the structure of development investment, both public and private.

In addition to the achievements, the 2012-2020 Strategy still has shortcomings and limitations such as: the methodology is not comprehensive, leading to a lack of direction and feasible roadmap in implementing, monitoring and evaluating the goals; the framework for mobilizing resources to implement the Strategy has not fully exploited the potential of the private sector; the lack of inter-sectoral and inter-regional solutions leads to efforts to implement the Strategy being isolated and not very effective.

Meanwhile, the world context shows that green growth has become an inevitable trend with many international initiatives and commitments, such as increasing investment in smart manufacturing and high-tech products, digital government, smart cities, etc. In particular, economic growth recovery towards green growth or "green recovery" is being promoted by many countries in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Implementing the Prime Minister's direction on developing the National Strategy on Green Growth for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2045, to be submitted to the Prime Minister in June 2021, the Ministry of Planning and Investment is developing the Strategy for the new period.

According to Minister Nguyen Chi Dung, building the National Strategy on Green Growth 2030 towards a long-term carbon neutral economy is a top priority in the new context, especially the strong digital transformation trend, helping Vietnam seize opportunities and use resources effectively.

Western Nghe An - an area with potential for eco-tourism development. Photo: Hai Vuong

Green growth not only helps ensure environmental sustainability, enhance the country's resilience to climate change and risks of natural disasters and epidemics, but also creates equality in access to opportunities and benefits for all people, leaving no one behind in the development process, contributing to the transmission and sharing of humanistic values, core cultural values, and responsible lifestyles of each individual and of the whole society.

According to Mr. Le Viet Anh, Director of the Department of Science, Education, Natural Resources and Environment (Ministry of Planning and Investment), the National Strategy on Green Growth 2030 selectively inherits the results of the Strategy for the 2012-2020 period, perfecting the methodology to quantify the goals and implementation roadmap.

Green growth scenarios for the entire economy and each priority sector are developed through the use of economic models combined with sectoral models, with special attention paid to cost-benefit analysis and assessment of the socio-economic impacts of the Strategy, ensuring consistency and compatibility with the Millennium Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement on greenhouse gas emission reduction.

Private investment plays a key role

The Strategy aims to promote socio-economic development, to achieve economic prosperity, environmental sustainability and social equity; towards a green, carbon-neutral economy; with the capacity to withstand and respond effectively to external shocks, contributing to limiting temperature increase according to global targets.

Specifically, the Strategy aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions intensity compared to GDP by 2030, 2040, 2050; greening economic sectors; greening sustainable lifestyles and consumption; improving quality of life, resilience to external shocks, ensuring equality in access to opportunities and results of the green transition.

“Green growth orients investment and resource mobilization in advanced technology, digital transformation, smart and sustainable infrastructure; effectively uses natural capital, improves and enhances environmental quality; and creates momentum for private investment to play a key role,” Mr. Le Viet Anh emphasized.

At the Conference, representatives of ministries, branches, embassies of countries (Korea, Netherlands, UK...), international organizations, development partners (World Bank, Asian Development Bank, UNDP, UNIDO, UNICE, GiZ, KOICA, AFD, USAid...) and experts gave many profound comments and highly agreed on the new and feasible points, especially the comprehensive but quantifiable nature of the National Strategy on Green Growth in the coming period and believed that the Strategy will realize Vietnam's aspirations with the consensus of all relevant parties. Countries, development partners and international organizations pledged to accompany and support Vietnam in implementing the Strategy.

Concluding the meeting, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung emphasized that the development of the Strategy is of particular importance in the orientation of national development in order to successfully implement the Resolution of the 13th Party Congress, the 10-year Socio-Economic Development Strategy 2021-2030, the 5-year Socio-Economic Development Plan 2021-2025, 2026-2030. In the coming time, the Ministry of Planning and Investment will continue to organize consultation meetings with stakeholders at all levels with the support and companionship of ministries, branches, agencies, domestic and international organizations, the business community, experts, etc. to complete the draft Strategy to submit to the Prime Minister in June 2021.