Hanoi (VNA) - Manybusinesses have refused to join a clean production and energy efficiencyproject because they don’t find attractive enough incentives, experts said at aconference on June 15.
The conference was held to review implementation of the five-year Vietnam CleanProduction and Energy Efficiency Project (CPEE) that closed this month.
“To encourage firms and to reach a more ambitious goal, more attractiveincentives are needed,” Nguyen Dinh Hiep, vice chairman of the Vietnam EnergyConservation and Energy Efficiency Association, said at the conference.
The World Bank-funded CPEE project aimed to strengthen capacity for effectivedelivery of the national energy efficiency programme in key industrial sectors.This would improve energy efficiency and reduce associated greenhouse gasemissions.
The project had set goal of improving energy efficiency to more than 360,000TOEs (tonnes oil equivalent) and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 1.25million TCO2 (tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent) by 2017.
“However, only 70 percent of the goals have been met,” said a representativefrom the Department of Science, Technology and Energy Efficiency under theMinistry of Industry and Trade.
The department estimated that the project would help save 249,000 TOEs ofenergy and reduce emissions by 933,000 TCO2 this year.
To date, about 89 percent of the project’s investment has been disbursed, anddisbursement of the remaining funds would continue, officials said, withoutelaborating.
The World Bank estimates that Vietnam can effect energy savings of 11 percentwith proper investment in energy consumption.
Experts also said that Vietnam needs more policies that encourage firms to saveenergy and promote energy efficiency in the long term.-VNA
