Vietnam’s cities discharge 70 percent of total CO2 hinh anh 1Air pollution in Vietnam - Illustrative photo (Photo: VNA)
 
Hanoi (VNA) - Cities consume 70 percent of Vietnam’s total energy and discharge 70 percent of the country’s total carbon dioxide emissions, a policy dialogue announced in Hanoi on July 19.

The event was co-organised by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, United Nations Human Settlements Development Programme (UN Habitat) and the Republic of Korea’s Science and Technology Policy Institute, aiming to determine measures to effectively reduce Vietnamese carbon dioxide emissions.

Carbon dioxide emission discharged from energy consumption account for 26 percent of total emissions; vehicles emit 13 percent. Therefore, reducing carbon dioxide emission in cities will play a very important role in Vietnam’s master plan to cut down carbon dioxide emission by 2030 under the National Determined Contribution (NDC).

Using low-emission energy sources such as compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), ethanol fuel and bio-diesel, and developing public transport are believed to be the major solutions for the situation in Vietnam, participants said.

Speaking at the event, Nguyen Quang, director of UN Habitat in Vietnam, said the country have taken initial steps toward implementing low-emission energy sources and investing in improving public transportation.

In the meantime, according to the Hanoi People’s Committee, the country will invest 31 billion USD in improving the capacity of public transport by 2030. Additionally, it also approved a project of private vehicle management in 2017-20, with a vision towards 2030.

Lee Woo Sung, from the Republic of Korea’s Science and Technology Policy Institute, shared experiences with Vietnam in reducing greenhouse gas.

The Republic of Korea has invested in developing climate-technology-policy since 2014. Its 10 key climate technologies encompass solar cells, fuel cells, bio fuel and by-product gas conversion, he said.

The research investment was nearly KRW 78 billion (69 million USD), he said.

Lee also said his country’s Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning had planned to become a hub for global climate technology co-operation – linking Korean technology holders to the needs of developing countries around the world, including Vietnam.

Pham Van Tan, deputy head of the ministry’s Meteorology, Hydrology and Climate Change Department, said Vietnam plans to develop a low-carbon economy in its updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) for the Paris climate accords.

Finding suitable solutions to cut down Vietnam’s urban carbon dioxide emissions is very necessary, he added.

Under the NDC, Vietnam targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 8 percent by 2030.

Vietnam signed the Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change on December 2015 in Paris, and the country ratified the agreement on November 2016.

Each party that ratified the Paris agreement was asked to submit an updated NDC every five years, defining their efforts to contribute to holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C, pursuing efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C and achieving net zero emissions by the second half of this century. -VNA
VNA