Forum mulls over private sector’s engagement in climate actions

Participants at the event. (Photo: VNA)

HCM City (VNA)  – The “Corporate Leaders’ Forum on Climate Change and Circular Economy” was co-organised in Ho Chi Minh City on October 27 by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Japan Internation Cooperation Agency in coordination.

The event was held within the scope of the Technical Cooperation Project for supporting Vietnam in responding to climate change - “Support for Planning and Implementation of the Nationally Determined Contributions in Vietnam (SPI-NDC)”.

Speaking at the event, Nguyen Tuan Quang, Deputy Director of the Climate Change Department at the MONRE, said forum offers chance for business leaders to discuss motivations and specific actions that they are taking to respond to climate change, thereby establishing creating favourable conditions for the private sector to participate in the emission reduction roadmap in Vietnam.

Quang also said he hopes that the recommendations collected at the forum will help promote climate action.

The forum updated participating corporate leaders with the most recent policies and requirements in Vietnam on greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction and ozone layer protection, which includes requirements for selected enterprises at facility level in conducting GHG accounting and preparing plans for GHG reduction, and for listed companies in writing the sustainability report.

Participants were also shared with international trends and the best practices for business sector GHG accounting and GHG reduction actions in the context of the Paris Agreement.

Nguyen Quoc Khanh, Executive Director of Research and Development of VinamilK, the largest dairy producer in Vietnam said the compnay has included sustainable development as one of the four development strategies for the next five years. It will increase renewable energy and plant trees to neutralise greenhouse gases, aiming to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. To this end, Vinamilk has adopted a green farm ecological farm model and "green" value chain to produce fresh milk products in line with the model.

Yoshitomo Kubo, Deputy Chief Representative of JICA Vietnam Office, said that JICA will continue to support Vietnam in implementing the SPI-NDC project, aiming to strengthen the partnership between the Government and businesses, enabling the private sector to participate in activities to reduce GHG emissions./.