Vietnam's Energy Industry with the problem of reducing net emissions to "0"

Reducing net emissions to “zero” by 2050 does not simply require increasing the share of renewable energy but requires increasing energy efficiency.

Ngành Năng lượng Việt Nam với bài toán giảm phát thải ròng bằng '0'

Vietnam's Energy Industry with the Problem of Reducing Net Emissions to '0'

At COP26, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh made an important statement, demonstrating Vietnam's strong commitment to addressing climate change and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 through the use of domestic resources and international cooperation.

To ensure sustainable energy security and positive economic outcomes, a comprehensive and diverse analytical process is essential.

As part of this effort, the Southeast Asia Energy Transition Partnership (ETP/UNOPS) is implementing the “Net-Zero Scenario Diagnostic Study for Vietnam’s Energy Sector” to conduct a comprehensive scenario assessment of Vietnam’s energy system transition towards Net-Zero by 2050. E4SMA – ITALY, VIETSTAR – VIETNAM and EML – DENMACH are the consulting units in charge of implementing the above project.

During the project, a consultation workshop on data and assumptions was held on 9 May 2023 in Hanoi , Vietnam with the participation of implementing partners to inform about the key data and assumptions that will be used in the analysis of the Net-zero scenario, collect further inputs on data and assumptions from stakeholders, and synthesize views/opinions on the sensitivity analyses that will be conducted in the study.

Delegates attending the workshop.

The workshop was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT), the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), international cooperation agencies and key stakeholders in the energy sector such as the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN), Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN), and the Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin).

Mr. John Cotton - Senior Program Director at ETP/UNOPS emphasized that the research on Net-zero is implemented based on empirical research, applying quantitative analysis methods to achieve net zero emissions.

At this workshop, domestic and international experts exchanged information and contributed ideas on assumptions for the project.

First, Maurizo Gargiulo, Project Leader from E4SMA, said: “Technological mitigation measures such as electrification, synthetic fuels, energy efficiency, carbon capture and even direct removal of CO2 from the atmosphere are all possible.”

Mr. Rasmus Munch Sørensen - Representative from the Vietnam-Denmark Energy Partnership Program emphasized the importance of the electricity market and said that it is necessary to analyze unstable factors such as the absorption capacity of renewable energy.

According to Mr. Pham Van Tan - Deputy Director of the Department of Climate Change (Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment), the measures in the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) are not mandatory measures to follow but suggested measures for businesses/agencies to refer to and consider implementing, so if the Study has better proposals, it will also be very valuable.

Mr. Pham Hoang Luong - Head of the domestic project highly appreciated the comments of international and domestic consultants and relevant parties on the expected hypothetical data that will be used for analysis in the scenarios. He said: "We have also closely followed and implemented the project's desire that all assumptions and parameters be supplemented, commented on and edited by representatives of international organizations and relevant parties to ensure that the hypothetical data is both up-to-date and feasible".

At the Workshop, stakeholders had an active and fruitful discussion on net-zero research, focusing on socio-economic aspects and existing technologies. The Workshop was a great success and ETP will conduct further research on the Net-Zero scenario based on the valuable comments and inputs gathered from the Workshop.

The next consultation workshop is scheduled to take place in June 2023.

“In the coming stages, we hope to continue to receive companionship, support and comments from Ministries/Departments/Sectors and relevant agencies so that the research and implementation of the project can be effective and on schedule,” said Ms. Pham Thu Hang, CEO of VietStar, Project Management Board.

The project “Diagnostic study of Net-Zero scenarios for Vietnam's energy sector” funded by the Southeast Asia Energy Transition Partnership (ETP) will assess the transition of Vietnam's energy sector towards net-zero emissions by 2050.

The study was conducted by consulting organizations: E4SMA (Italy) - with expertise in energy and climate change modeling for decision making, Energy Modeling Lab (Denmark) and VietStar Training & Consulting (Vietnam) with the role of connecting stakeholders and domestic understanding.

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