Solving plastic pollution: Vietnam needs about 9 billion USD in financial resources

Over the years, Vietnam has achieved many remarkable achievements in reducing plastic pollution and gradually improving its national image, removing its name from the list of top plastic polluting countries in the world.

Marine plastic pollution is becoming increasingly serious. (Photo: Wired)

However, to continue to implement the determination to reduce plastic pollution (such as reducing more than 43% of plastic leakage into the environment, reducing 75% of plastic waste in the ocean by 2030), according to estimates by the KPMG expert group, Vietnam needs financial resources of about 8-9 billion USD to "take action" in the next 5 years.

Maintaining commitment to reducing plastic waste

At the workshop to implement the National Plastic Action Partnership Program (NPAP) organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment in coordination with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Vietnam on July 9, a representative of KPMG (one of the largest auditing companies in the world) cited a report from the World Bank (WB) saying that Vietnam is one of the countries that has contributed greatly to ocean plastic pollution in recent times.

According to the World Bank, in 2018, Vietnam discharged about 3.7 million tons of plastic waste, and this figure is expected to increase to 7.6 million tons by 2030. Only 0.4 million tons of this is recycled, while most of the plastic is burned, dumped or buried.

To achieve plastic reduction targets such as reducing plastic leakage by more than 43% by 2030 and reducing plastic waste into the ocean by 75%, according to KPMG estimates, Vietnam needs about 8-9 billion USD in financial resources in the next 5 years. Of which, 2-2.5 billion USD will be used to reduce and replace plastic at the source; 1.4-2 billion USD for collection and classification; 2.8-3.4 billion USD for recycling; about 1 billion USD for intervention measures; 700-900 million USD for final treatment measures.

The expert group recommends that to generate additional resources, it is necessary to first reform and optimize the extended producer responsibility framework; promote investment in innovation in recycled and alternative plastics; formalize and support the informal sector; establish a scalable recycling ecosystem through industrial clusters and strengthen urban and rural waste management...

Meanwhile, according to Ms. Ramla Khalidi - UNDP Representative in Vietnam, since its launch in 2020, NPAP Vietnam has connected more than 200 organizations and supported over 160 projects to reduce plastic pollution. This initiative has promoted more than 570 innovative solutions, mobilizing a total investment of more than 1 million USD.

“Thanks to that close coordination, it has contributed to shaping and integrating the principle of inclusiveness into Vietnam’s policies,” said Ms. Ramla Khalidi, emphasizing that if ten years ago, Vietnam was often ranked among the world’s leading plastic polluters, now that story is changing, not because the problem has been completely solved, but because Vietnam is taking real and measurable steps to address the problem.

“Moving to a truly sustainable partnership will take time. It requires effective systems, strong leadership at the national level, and sustainable funding. However, it is possible if all parties share responsibility and maintain cooperation,” said Ramla Khalidi.

The UNDP Vietnam Representative also affirmed that as the host of the NPAP Program in Vietnam, the organization continues to commit to promoting the multilateral, multi-stakeholder partnership platform, established on the basis of official cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment of Vietnam and the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Actions to reduce plastic pollution. (Photo: Hung Vo/Vietnam+)

In addition, the United Nations Development Programme will also support the partnership's activities in the second half of 2025 to realize commitments to reduce plastic waste and plastic pollution.

Strengthening the necessary policy foundation

In a related development, on July 9, the National Plastics Action Partnership (NPAP) officially launched the NPAP Policy Technical Group, a mechanism designed to promote alignment between regulatory frameworks related to plastics action and circularity. The group brings together 15 members who are policymakers, businesses, researchers and development partners.

Head of the NPAP Vietnam Technical Policy Group - Mr. Ho Kien Trung, Deputy Director General of the Environment Department, said that in the coming time, the group will work closely with the two existing NPAP Technical Groups (Innovation and Finance, and Gender Equality and Social Inclusion), to strengthen an integrated and comprehensive approach to addressing plastic pollution in Vietnam.

The group’s work aims to strengthen the policy foundation needed for long-term, systemic change and contribute to Vietnam’s commitment to building a sustainable circular plastics economy.

According to Mr. Vu Duc Dam Quang, Deputy Director of the Department of International Cooperation (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) - Head of the Vietnamese delegation at the INC-5.2 negotiation round, this is a key moment for Vietnam to proactively shape proposals suitable to domestic conditions while promoting its role as an active member of the Asia-Pacific region in the process of building a global agreement.

Mr. Quang also said that the official launch of the NPAP Policy Technical Group by the Vietnam National Plastics Action Partnership yesterday, July 9, is a continuation of the commitment to address the growing challenges of plastic pollution through shared responsibility, as well as resource mobilization and policy solutions.

In addition, according to the representative of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, NPAP is also a bridge for stakeholders to consolidate expertise, share views and link interventions to achieve important goals (including reducing 75% of marine plastic waste by 2030, eliminating single-use plastics in coastal provinces and implementing Extended Producer and Importer Responsibility (EPR) nationwide).

Mr. Quang also emphasized that in recent years, Vietnam has closely coordinated with international partners, non-governmental organizations and businesses to implement programs and projects to reduce plastic pollution. Thanks to that, Vietnam has achieved many remarkable achievements in the process of reducing plastic pollution and gradually improving the national image, removing its name from the list of countries causing the most plastic pollution in the world./.

According to VNA

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/giai-quyet-o-nhiem-nhua-viet-nam-can-nguon-tai-chinh-khoang-9-ty-usd-254472.htm