We are spending sparingly on green growth.

This was the opinion of the Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Vo Van Hoan, at the press conference on the 4th Ho Chi Minh City Economic Forum 2023 (HEF 2023) held today, September 7th, organized by the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City.

This year's forum is themed "Green Growth - A Journey Towards Net Zero Emissions".

When discussing green growth, Mr. Vo Van Hoan stated that the world is changing rapidly, but our actions are very slow and hesitant. Sometimes, we are being stingy with the money we spend today so that we can benefit from green growth in the future.

"Consumers don't want to buy goods at rising prices, businesses don't want product costs to increase, and the government doesn't want to inject more money because it's too expensive. If things continue like this, we cannot achieve the Net Zero target by 2050," Mr. Hoan said.

The Ho Chi Minh City Economic Forum (HEF 2023) has the theme of green growth. (Photo: Chi Hung)

Meanwhile, new foreign investors entering Ho Chi Minh City often ask whether the city has renewable energy sources? Does the city allow them to utilize renewable energy to offset their own emissions from product manufacturing?

For businesses that have already invested in Ho Chi Minh City and now want to expand, they ask similar questions, but the city shakes its head because Ho Chi Minh City has nothing. Businesses cannot expand their factories because the products they produce do not have enough green elements and cannot be sold in developed countries.

Therefore, Mr. Hoan emphasized the need for a strong campaign with concrete actions to create change. Here, the message of HEF 2023 needs to clearly state: "Green growth and our actions."

The Vice Chairman of the City Council stated that awareness is necessary, but action is even more important. It's unacceptable for the State to act alone while businesses remain inactive, or for the State to call on businesses to act while it fails to do so. All sectors, levels of government, businesses, and citizens must participate together to achieve green growth.

The Prime Minister will attend the Ho Chi Minh City Economic Forum 2023.

HEF 2023 is an annual international event organized by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, aiming to receive feedback from domestic and international speakers and experts on the city's socio-economic development in general, and key projects, goals, and programs in particular. This year, the event took place from September 13-17.

According to the organizers, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will attend and deliver a speech at the forum. In addition, HEF 2023 will be attended by the Head of the Central Economic Committee, the Minister of Planning and Investment, the Minister of Finance, and leaders from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Information and Communications.

In addition, there are 18 delegations from international ministries, departments, and localities; 8 international financial institutions and organizations; and 65 domestic and international experts in the fields of green economy, circular economy, and sustainable green growth for the world.

Vietnam requests support from its second-largest FDI partner in accessing green finance . As a leading financial center in the region, Vietnam hopes that Singapore's business community will continue to support Vietnam in accessing shifting investment sources and green finance.

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