National Assembly Delegate: We have not really invested adequately in the environment.

“If we do not invest more strongly now, the cost of environmental remediation in the future will be dozens of times higher than the current cost of prevention,” said National Assembly member Nguyen Thi Viet Nga.

On the afternoon of October 28, National Assembly deputies continued to discuss the report of the National Assembly's Supervisory Delegation on the implementation of environmental protection policies and laws since the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 took effect.

Need to build national environmental risk maps

Deputy Tran Kim Yen (HCMC) said that although about 8,000 projects have had their environmental impact assessment (EIA) reports approved in the 2020-2024 period, there is still a significant gap between the reports on paper and actual effectiveness, especially for large infrastructure projects that cause negative impacts on an inter-regional scale.

The delegate said that many documents show that in the Red River Delta, rapid urbanization and transportation projects have reduced natural drainage space, increased flooding and subsidence due to groundwater exploitation; sand mining on the Red River also causes riverbank erosion.

Many hydroelectric transport projects and industrial parks have leveled bare hills and streams, increasing the risk of landslides and flooding downstream... On highways, many projects have faced major challenges in terms of hydrogeology and environment. In practice, some projects have had to apply remedial solutions...

Delegate Tran Kim Yen (HCMC). Photo: QUANG PHUC

From that analysis, Deputy Tran Kim Yen proposed to improve the quality of appraisal and post-audit of EIA, requiring mandatory inter-regional and inter-area assessment for large-scale infrastructure projects. According to Deputy Tran Kim Yen, improving the quality of EIA is not only a requirement for environmental management, but also a core factor to ensure safe sustainable development and adaptation to climate change. In particular, for national transport infrastructure projects, EIA should be considered a strategic forecasting tool, not just an administrative procedure.

She also suggested promoting research and developing national environmental risk maps to integrate into infrastructure development planning; at the same time, post-EIA audit; shifting thinking to risk assessment and environmental adaptation.

The second issue that Deputy Tran Kim Yen mentioned is the lack of a uniform legal framework for waste-to-energy projects, leading to overlapping management and a lack of unified mechanisms. Therefore, the Deputy recommended that the Government soon issue specialized regulations on investment, licensing and management of waste-to-energy plants.

Delegates attending the meeting on the afternoon of October 28. Photo: QUANG PHUC

Budget spending on environmental protection is too low

Deputy Nguyen Thi Viet Nga ( Hai Phong ) said that currently, the whole country has the Vietnam Environmental Protection Fund at the central level and many provincial Environmental Protection Funds, established under the Law on Environmental Protection 2020, however, their operational efficiency is still limited. Therefore, the Deputy recommended that the Government soon issue a new decree on this issue, in the direction of unifying the operating mechanism of provincial funds, allowing the fund to receive funding, issue green bonds and cooperate with the private sector in investing in environmental infrastructure; expanding the authority of the fund to provide preferential loans, credit guarantees or co-finance investments with environmental protection projects that have the ability to recover capital.

On the other hand, according to Deputy Nguyen Thi Viet Nga, the Ministry of Finance reported that the central budget expenditure for environmental protection in the past 3 years has only reached less than 1/10 of 1% of the total national budget expenditure. That figure shows that the current expenditure level is still too low compared to practical requirements, especially when we are facing pollution from domestic, industrial, and craft waste and climate change.

Delegate Nguyen Thi Viet Nga (Hai Phong). Photo: QUANG PHUC

Delegate Nguyen Thi Viet Nga proposed to increase the budget expenditure for environmental protection to at least 30% compared to the current level. Because environmental protection is not the “price to pay for development”, but a prerequisite for sustainable development and people’s quality of life. If we improve institutions, expand public-private partnerships, and invest a proportionate budget, the environment will become the foundation and driving force for green growth, not a barrier.

The budget expenditure figure of less than 1/10 of 1% of total national expenditure shows a worrying reality: we have not really invested adequately in the environment, a field directly related to the health, livelihood and future of the entire nation. Meanwhile, climate change, air pollution and clean water scarcity are becoming global challenges, and Vietnam is no exception, as the monitoring reports have clearly shown. "If we do not invest more strongly now, the cost of overcoming environmental consequences in the future will be dozens of times higher than the current cost of prevention," said Deputy Nguyen Thi Viet Nga.

Delegate Duong Khac Mai (Lam Dong). Photo: QUANG PHUC

Opinions also pointed out the current urban pollution situation, especially the problem of wastewater. According to the monitoring report, the urban waste collection rate reached 97%, but only 18% of wastewater was treated, showing that most of the urban wastewater is being discharged directly into the environment.

According to Deputy Duong Khac Mai (Lam Dong), the management of surface water quality is also problematic when most rivers are polluted, threatening water security. He said that water should be considered a national resource to find solutions to protect the quality of surface water.

Citing the recent severe flooding, including the current flooding in the Central provinces, National Assembly member Duong Khac Mai said that it is urgent to address the issue of climate change and soon develop a law on climate change.

PHAN THAO

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/dbqh-chung-ta-van-chua-thuc-su-dau-tu-tuong-xung-cho-moi-truong-post820402.html