Vietnam, RoK promote environment cooperation

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Dang Quoc Khanh has asked the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s Minister of Environment Han Whajin to strengthen cooperation with Vietnam in the field of environment for sustainable development and the improvement of environment quality for the present and future generations.

During his talks with Han in Hanoi on November 1, Khanh hailed the RoK’s green ODA programme, adding it will be a great help for Vietnam in implementing its net-zero emission commitment by 2050.

He also asked for support from the RoK, the host of the Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G) Summit in 2021, in organising the P4G Summit in Vietnam in 2025.

Regarding the extended producer responsibility (EPR), the minister said he hopes the RoK Ministry of Environment will continue to assist Vietnam in completing and implementing EPR regulations, including providing EPR implementation consultations, supporting the building and management of EPR implementation monitoring database, and sharing experience in EPR realisation.

For issues related to circular economy, Khanh proposed that the RoK support Vietnam in building and issuing guidance on the application of Best Available Techniques (BAT), reviewing, updating and supplementing the BAT list to ensure compatibility with reality and the level of development of science and technology in Vietnam, and guiding the application of BAT in particular type of production, business, and service with a risk of causing environmental pollution.

For her part, Han underlined the significance of this year’s talks after five years of disruption due to COVID-19 impacts.

Noting that the RoK has announced the goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050 and setting the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030 compared to 2018, while Vietnam is also making efforts to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, Han expressed confidence that the two countries will continue to make joint efforts on many fronts to cut carbon emissions through expanding cooperation in global emissions reduction projects.

She said she hopes that Vietnam will have greater attention and stronger coordination on projects in waste-to-energy and, biofuel converting areas.

The RoK will provide Vietnam with assistance in experts, technology and experience so that both sides can implement international commitments in the fields of environmental protection and climate change response towards sustainable development together.

At the talks, the two ministers signed a memorandum of understanding on comprehensive cooperation in the field of environment between the two ministries, which is expected to become a new motivation for the growth of collaboration between the two ministries in particular and the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries in general./.