Hanoi (VNA) – The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has joinedhands with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE),enterprises, notably the Vietnam Electricity (EVN) group, and socialorganisations in the Earth Hour campaign to raise public aware of environmentalprotection, an official has said. 

The Earth Hour 2021 campaign, initiatedby the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) with the theme “Speak up for nature”,will take place in Vietnam on March 27 evening.

Starting as a symbolic “lights out”event in Sydney in 2007, the Earth Hour has become one of the world’s largestgrassroots movements for the environment. It has inspired and empoweredindividuals, communities, businesses, and organisations in 190 countries andterritories to take action on climate change and environmental loss.

The Earth Hour was first organised byWWF in Vietnam in 2009. Since 2012, the campaign has been organised annually tobring people together to reduce the impact of climate change and protect theenvironment.

According to Deputy Minister of Industryand Trade Dang Hoang An, 63 Vietnamese cities and provinces have responded tothe campaign, as compared with only six localities more than 10 years ago.

He said the Government has assigned theMoIT to draw up and roll out policies on greenhouse gas emission reduction inindustry, energy and trade, so as to realise Vietnam’s commitments toimplementing the Paris agreement on climate change.

For industry, the ministry has focusedon major solutions regarding energy saving and efficiency, and renewable energydevelopment, the official added.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc hasissued the national target programme on energy efficiency with total fundingamounting to 4.4 trillion VND (190.41 million USD), An said, noting that theMoIT is carrying out the third stage of the 2019-2030 phase, aiming to cut from8-10 percent of energy consumption, equivalent to 60-80 million tonnes of oil.

Meanwhile, renewable energy is expectedto make up 15-20 percent of the country’s energy output by 2030, and 25-30percent by 2045, the official continued.

The MoIT is also working to promotehigh-tech and environmentally friendly industries, instead of energy andlabor-intensive ones.  

In the sphere of trade, it has organiseda range of programmes to encourage the production and consumption ofenvironmental friendly products, according to the Deputy Minister.
Such activities are expected tocontribute to implementing the national target of realising the Parisagreement, he said./.