The National Assembly discussed in the hall the Draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Economical and Efficient Use of Energy.

Continuing the working program of the 9th Session of the 15th National Assembly, under the direction of Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Le Minh Hoan, the National Assembly discussed in the hall the Draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Economical and Efficient Use of Energy (SDNL TK&HQ).

Basically agree with the amended and supplemented contents of the draft Law

At the meeting, National Assembly deputies agreed on the need to promulgate a Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Economic and Competitive Use of Natural Resources in order to continue to thoroughly grasp and institutionalize the viewpoints and policies of the Party and State to resolve issues arising from domestic practice, in accordance with international laws and practices. At the same time, it is necessary to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of State management, remove obstacles and barriers, create a favorable legal corridor, and strengthen incentive mechanisms to promote economic and competitive use of natural resources.

In addition, National Assembly Deputies also contributed opinions on a number of contents such as: supplementing regulations on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in applying solutions for efficient energy use; conformity with international commitments; tax incentives for activities using energy economically and efficiently; solutions to promote the transition to green energy...

Regarding the establishment of the Fund for Promoting Economic and Efficient Use of Energy, National Assembly Deputy Do Ngoc Thinh ( Khanh Hoa ) said that Clause 6, Article 41 of the draft Law stipulates that the Fund for Promoting Economic and Efficient Use of Energy operates on a non-profit basis, mobilizes capital flexibly and is financially independent. However, such regulations do not provide specific guidance on the management mechanism, capital allocation and responsibilities of relevant parties. Therefore, the delegate proposed to supplement detailed regulations on the organizational structure and criteria for capital allocation, and the mechanism for monitoring the Fund's operations. At the same time, clarify the responsibilities of the Prime Minister and relevant agencies in inspecting and evaluating the Fund's operational effectiveness to avoid waste or misuse of resources.

Regarding the development of the ESCO model (energy service company), delegate Tran Quoc Tuan (Tra Vinh delegation) expressed his agreement with the Government's decision to develop a mechanism to support the development of the ESCO model. According to him, this is a mutually beneficial model, and if there is no incentive mechanism soon, a great opportunity will be missed. Because currently, about 25 countries in the world have successfully applied the ESCO model, considering it a market tool and an important pillar to promote energy transition. Accordingly, delegate Tran Quoc Tuan suggested that the Government pay attention to directing the early establishment of a credit fund to promote the use of energy economically and efficiently, as stipulated in the draft law.

Regarding the addition of regulations on energy labeling for construction materials in Clause 2, Article 37 of the draft Law, National Assembly Deputy Tran Quoc Tuan (Tra Vinh) said that construction is one of the industries that consumes the most energy today. In Vietnam, more than 60% of electricity in construction works is used for air conditioning and lighting. The implementation of energy labeling for construction materials will inevitably face certain difficulties such as: lack of criteria and national standards for many types of materials; the number of qualified testing laboratories is still small; high testing costs and weak post-inspection mechanisms.

Delegate Tran Quoc Tuan proposed that the Government should issue a mandatory roadmap for a number of construction materials that have a major impact on electricity consumption such as: construction glass, insulating materials, construction materials... At the same time, build a system of Vietnamese standards on energy efficiency for construction materials in sync with international standards; socialize testing activities, grant certification...

Along with that, the National Assembly deputies proposed regulations on the application of QR codes and digital platforms in the production and trading of this type of material to trace transparent energy labels, helping consumers understand the products they are using. At the same time, there should be a strict post-inspection mechanism and strict handling of intentional violations.

Also concerned about the addition of regulations on energy labeling for construction materials, National Assembly member Do Ngoc Thinh said that it is necessary to increase transparency in energy labeling. Accordingly, it is necessary to add regulations on the responsibility of management agencies in periodically inspecting and handling violations of businesses that do not comply with energy labeling, especially on e-commerce platforms.

Seriously absorb and perfect the draft Law

Explaining the opinions of the National Assembly deputies, Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long said that in the discussion session in groups on the afternoon of May 10, there were 55 opinions from delegates contributing to the draft Law. Of these, 8 delegates directly discussed in the National Assembly.

Vietnam has committed at COP26 to the goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050, along with the rapid development of AI, data centers... the demand for electricity is large, so there needs to be an immediate solution to achieve the goal along with solutions to use energy economically and efficiently.

Regarding the establishment of a Fund to promote the use of energy economically and efficiently, the Deputy Prime Minister said that this content has been oriented in Resolution 55 of the Politburo. The Deputy Prime Minister cited that according to statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in the past 10 years, there has been about 300 million USD from various funding and credit sources, but there has not been a centralized mechanism to exploit and effectively use this resource. Therefore, there needs to be a centralized, unified mechanism to manage and use that capital and continue to attract financial resources for this activity.

Regarding the Fund's operating mechanism, the Deputy Prime Minister said that the opinion of the drafting agency is that the Fund will operate according to the principle of entrusting credit operations to a commercial bank. Regarding the opinions of delegates requesting further clarification of the Fund's operating mechanism, Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long said: "The Government will have a project on the establishment and operation of this Fund to ensure that it can attract good resources and manage effectively, and achieve the right goals."

Regarding energy labeling for construction materials and some other products. According to the Deputy Prime Minister, this content is currently in the current mechanism in the law, but the way of doing it this time is different, state management agencies only focus on guiding, issuing standards, norms and the State post-inspecting to save administrative procedures, increase the self-awareness and efforts of production establishments and enterprises.

Concluding the session, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Le Minh Hoan stated that, through discussion, the National Assembly deputies basically agreed on many contents of explanation, acceptance, and revision of the Draft Law on amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Economical and Efficient Use of Energy as stated in the Report of the National Assembly Standing Committee. The Vice Chairman of the National Assembly requested the agency in charge of the review to closely coordinate with the agency in charge of drafting and relevant agencies to study and seriously accept and thoroughly and fully explain the opinions of the National Assembly deputies, report to the National Assembly Standing Committee to submit to the National Assembly for consideration and approval of the draft law at the afternoon session on June 16 according to the meeting agenda.

At the discussion session, 8 delegates contributed their opinions. Previously, in the discussion session in groups on the afternoon of May 10, there were 55 opinions from delegates contributing to the draft Law. The opinions discussed were enthusiastic, dedicated, and responsible, providing a basis for the agency in charge of reviewing and the agency in charge of drafting to coordinate with relevant agencies to continue to revise and perfect the Draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on the Use of Natural Resources and Environment in terms of both content and legislative techniques.

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Source: https://moit.gov.vn/tin-tuc/su-dung-nang-luong-tiet-kiem-va-hieu-qua/quoc-hoi-thao-luan-tai-hoi-truong-ve-du-an-luat-sua-doi-bo-sung-mot-so-dieu-cua-luat-su-dung-nang-luong-tiet-kiem-va-hie.html