Vietnam’s cities discharge 70 percent of total CO2

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

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

Carbondioxide emission discharged from energy consumption account for 26 percent oftotal emissions; vehicles emit 13 percent. Therefore, reducing carbon dioxideemission in cities will play a very important role in Vietnam’s master plan tocut down carbon dioxide emission by 2030 under the National DeterminedContribution (NDC).

Usinglow-emission energy sources such as compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefiedpetroleum gas (LPG), ethanol fuel and bio-diesel, and developing publictransport are believed to be the major solutions for the situation in Vietnam,participants said.

Speakingat the event, Nguyen Quang, director of UN Habitat in Vietnam, said the countryhave taken initial steps toward implementing low-emission energy sources andinvesting in improving public transportation.

Inthe meantime, according to the Hanoi People’s Committee, the country willinvest 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.

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

TheRepublic of Korea has invested in developing climate-technology-policy since2014. Its 10 key climate technologies encompass solar cells, fuel cells, biofuel and by-product gas conversion, he said.

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

Leealso said his country’s Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning hadplanned to become a hub for global climate technology co-operation – linkingKorean technology holders to the needs of developing countries around theworld, including Vietnam.

PhamVan Tan, deputy head of the ministry’s Meteorology, Hydrology and ClimateChange Department, said Vietnam plans to develop a low-carbon economy in itsupdated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) for the Paris climate accords.

Findingsuitable solutions to cut down Vietnam’s urban carbon dioxide emissions is verynecessary, he added.

Underthe NDC, Vietnam targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 8 percent by2030.

Vietnamsigned the Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change onDecember 2015 in Paris, and the country ratified the agreement on November2016.

Eachparty that ratified the Paris agreement was asked to submit an updated NDCevery five years, defining their efforts to contribute to holding the increasein the global average temperature to well below 2°C, pursuing efforts to limitthe increase to 1.5°C and achieving net zero emissions by the second half ofthis century. -VNA
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