In its second year of implementation and publication, Quang Ninh province has excellently ranked first nationwide in the Provincial Green Index (PGI). This achievement is not a coincidence or luck, but stems from the province's persistent efforts in transforming its growth model from "brown" to "green," linking economic development with environmental protection, and aiming for a sustainable green economy based on the principle of "not sacrificing the environment for rapid growth."
Green Index Mark
The PGI index is designed to provide input from business practices to support local governments in environmental governance, balancing economic growth and environmental sustainability goals; measuring the quality of environmental governance based on environmental policy documents and legal regulations... Comprising four component indices made up of 46 indicators measuring the quality of environmental governance, the PGI assesses traditional provincial-level governance activities in turn, as well as the newest and most anticipated activities in environmental governance.
The entire PGI score was collected from objective feedback from over 10,600 businesses (over 9,100 domestic private businesses and nearly 1,600 FDI businesses operating in Vietnam). The objective report ranked Quang Ninh in first place with 26 out of 40 points. The component scores were: Minimizing environmental pollution and negative impacts of climate change (7.41 points); ensuring compliance with minimum environmental standards (6.18 points); the leadership role of the provincial government in promoting green practices (6.68 points); and policies and services supporting businesses in environmental protection (5.73 points). Notably, all four component indicators increased in score compared to 2022.
This achievement is primarily due to the strong political will over the past decade, as Quang Ninh has consistently and resolutely transformed its development model from "brown" to "green"; achieving sustainable development in terms of economy, society, environment, and security; and pursuing a green transformation based on three pillars: nature, people, and culture, combined with leveraging the trends of peace, cooperation, integration, and opportunities from the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The province has implemented numerous solutions to achieve harmonious, sustainable, and inclusive development; placing the people at the center, as the subject, driving force, resource, and goal of development; and participating extensively and effectively in global production networks and value chains without sacrificing progress, social equity, and the environment for the sake of mere economic growth.
This approach by the province has quickly impacted the awareness and sense of responsibility regarding environmental protection among people, organizations, businesses, and investors; contributing to ensuring the goal of green and sustainable economic development; making Quang Ninh a successful locality in transforming its development model from "brown" to "green," leading in implementing the national green growth strategy. This is also a clear message from the province in accompanying the Government in achieving the goal of net emissions of "zero" by 2050; committing to accelerating economic transformation and contributing to solving major global challenges regarding climate change and current environmental issues.
Mr. Pham Tan Cong, Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), assessed: In all four components of the PGI, Quang Ninh has shown determination, decisiveness, and strength in its approach to environmental protection and balancing economic development with environmental protection. This creates an important foundation for the province to move forward and attract investors. Currently, a good investment and business environment is not only about convenience, speed, and ease of procedures, but also about being environmentally friendly and sustainable, aiming to address major global challenges related to climate change. With the province's approaches and solutions in linking economic development with environmental protection and transforming its growth model, Quang Ninh deserves its leading position in the PGI.
It's not just about the score.
In 2024 and the following period, environmental protection will continue to be a top priority for the provincial Party Committee and government. This is clearly reflected in the Provincial Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, which includes in-depth policies and orientations on environmental protection for each stage. In all aspects of the work, environmental protection is always emphasized by the province, aiming to contribute to improving the quality of life for its people, attracting investment and tourism, and serving the sustainable socio-economic development of the province.
In 2024, the province aims to continue maintaining its position among the leading provinces nationwide, striving to improve its score from 26 to 30; maintaining its position in the top 5 for two component indicators: Promoting Green Practices and Policies and Services Supporting Businesses in Environmental Protection; and prioritizing and significantly improving the scores and rankings of the remaining two component indicators: Minimizing Environmental Pollution and Negative Impacts of Climate Change, and Ensuring Compliance with Minimum Environmental Standards.
To achieve its goals, the province has set a series of strategic tasks throughout the period, such as: Enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of environmental management and protection according to the environmental protection plan in the Provincial Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050; building, perfecting, adjusting, and supplementing policies and mechanisms, and effectively mobilizing, allocating, and utilizing priority resources for environmental protection; promoting innovation; transferring, applying, and developing science and technology; improving the quality of communication and education to raise awareness about environmental management and protection, and responding to climate change…
For each task, the province sets out specific and clear solutions and assigns clear responsibilities to each department, agency, and functional unit for implementation. The province recognizes that striving in environmental protection is not only about improving scores and maintaining the PGI index ranking, but must be a particularly important factor in creating a foundation for sustainable development and improving the quality of life for the people. Along with that, it aims to realize the goal of preventing and reversing the increasing trend of environmental pollution by 2025 and setting directions for 2030; proactively and actively responding to climate change, forming the basic conditions for a green economy, a circular economy, a low-emission, low-carbon economy; contributing to building Quang Ninh into a model, prosperous, beautiful, civilized, and modern province.
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