Great benefits from implementing carbon credit mechanism in Hai Phong

The natural forest system in Cat Ba Biosphere Reserve can meet the conditions for selling carbon credits.

According to Resolution No. 226/2025/QH15 dated June 27, 2025 of the National Assembly, one of the financial and budget management mechanisms in Hai Phong that is being piloted is the carbon credit (greenhouse gas) exchange and offset mechanism.

Potential market

According to Decree 06/2022/ND-CP, the roadmap for greenhouse gas emission reduction is divided into two phases: 2021 - 2025 and 2026 - 2030. For large emission facilities, emission reduction is not required in the 2021 - 2025 phase; by the 2026 - 2030 phase, it is required to inventory and implement a carbon emission reduction plan according to the allocated quota; and it is allowed to exchange and trade greenhouse gas emission quotas and carbon credits on the market.

According to this roadmap, from 2026 onwards, large greenhouse gas emitters will be required to develop emission reduction plans. Then, from 2028, these businesses will be required to invest in emission reduction solutions. If they cannot reduce, businesses will have to buy carbon credits to offset greenhouse gas emissions because each facility is only allocated a set amount of greenhouse gas emissions into the environment. If they exceed the prescribed amount, these units will have to buy more carbon credits to avoid violating the regulations. Conversely, if the actual greenhouse gas emissions are less than the limit, the facility can sell the unused carbon credits to other units.

After the merger, the implementation of carbon credit sales in Hai Phong is more diverse, especially forest carbon credits. Forest carbon credits are understood as forest owners can convert the forest area they are managing and protecting into the amount of greenhouse gas absorption and sell these credits in the market through the emission reduction mechanism.

Hai Phong currently has over 33,096 hectares of forests and forestry land, distributed in 35 communes, wards and special zones. Of these, there are over 11,000 hectares of special-use forests, nearly 16,740 hectares of protective forests, more than 4,955 hectares of production forests... Of the total existing forest area, the city's natural forest area accounts for about 10,000 hectares (2,241 hectares in Nguyen Trai ward and over 7,923 hectares in Cat Hai special zone). This forest area can absorb tens of thousands of tons of greenhouse gases each year.

The number of enterprises with the need to buy carbon credits is also not small. After the merger, Hai Phong is now an international seaport, logistics, high-tech industry and modern service center with many large enterprises and economic groups. In the eastern area of Hai Phong, as of June 2025, there are 107 enterprises that must conduct greenhouse gas inventories. The number of enterprises that need to conduct greenhouse gas inventories will continue to be added in the coming time. These are enterprises with large emission sources and implementing greenhouse gas emission reduction according to the roadmap.

Industrial production facilities need solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In the photo: Wastewater treatment system at Do Son Industrial Park

Huge revenue from carbon credit mechanism

Since 2021, Quang Nam province (now Da Nang city) has been the first locality approved by the Government to establish a pilot project on forest carbon credit trading from greenhouse gas emission reduction through combating deforestation and forest degradation, and sustainable management of forest resources within 5 years (2021 - 2025). Accordingly, when implementing the project, forest owners (including forest management boards, nature reserves, forest planting units, organizations and individuals...) will benefit from participating in the forest carbon market. These forest owners can convert the forest area under management into the amount of carbon (greenhouse gas) absorbed.

In the project to develop a resolution on piloting a number of specific mechanisms and policies for city development, the project research team calculated that, according to Plan 222/KH-UBND dated September 15, 2022 of the Hai Phong City People's Committee, if the city achieves the target of reducing at least 43.5% compared to the development scenario by 2030, it is estimated that it can reduce about 3 - 5 million tons of CO₂/year (assuming current total emissions of about 7 - 10 million tons of CO₂/year); the city is expected to earn 120 - 250 million USD/year (with an average carbon credit price of 40 - 50 USD/ton of CO2 on the international market) if Hai Phong successfully participates in the carbon credit market and makes good use of the exchange and offset mechanism.

Notably, according to Resolution No. 226/2025/QH15 of the National Assembly, revenue from carbon credit transactions is 100% of the city's budget revenue; these revenues are not included in the local budget balance.

In addition to its great economic significance, the implementation of the carbon credit mechanism encourages businesses to closely link economic development with environmental protection. At the workshop "Green transformation in industrial parks for sustainable development of Hai Phong city" organized by the City Economic Zones Management Board on March 6, 2025, Mr. Bruno Jaspert, General Director of Deep C Industrial Park Complex shared: Enterprises focus on investing in wind and solar power production projects, and at the same time, DEEP C Industrial Park Complex is also switching to using electric vehicles to replace traditional gasoline and diesel vehicles. In the coming time, the enterprise continues to set a goal of achieving zero net emissions by 2050.

Take advantage of pilot policies

Clause 4, Article 5 of Resolution No. 226/2025/QH15 of the National Assembly stipulates the piloting of financial mechanisms to implement measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions according to carbon credit exchange and offset mechanisms. Specifically, carbon credits traded include carbon credits formed from programs and projects according to carbon credit exchange and offset mechanisms invested from the city's budget capital traded with domestic and foreign investors.

The City People's Committee coordinates with the Ministries of Industry and Trade, Agriculture and Environment, Construction, and Finance to determine the contribution rate of greenhouse gas emission reduction and absorption in the city to the national greenhouse gas emission reduction target before trading carbon credits. The City People's Council decides on the use of revenue from carbon credit trading for programs and projects to respond to climate change, develop green economy, digital economy, and circular economy.

According to Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment Pham Van Thuan, the trading floor will be a place where carbon credits are issued, listed and exchanged between interested parties. The pilot implementation of the carbon credit trading floor, one of the tools to develop the local carbon market, prepares the government and businesses to participate in Vietnam's domestic carbon market in the future, as well as accelerates the city's greenhouse gas emission reduction rate according to the set target.

BAO CHAU

Source: https://baohaiphong.vn/loi-ich-lon-tu-thuc-hien-co-che-tin-chi-carbon-o-hai-phong-518495.html