Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - As the energy industry has a crucial role in achievingnet zero emissions by 2050, it requires a structural transition toward greengrowth. Therefore, Vietnam needs assistance from developed countries regardingboth financial and technical issues.

To detail the national green growth strategy, the Prime Minister on July 22approved the national action plan on green growth for 2021-2030 with fourimportant goals. The goals are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions per GDP, togreen economic sectors, to green lifestyles and promote sustainableconsumption, and to green the transition on the principles of equality,inclusion, and resilience.

Speaking at the conference on the impact of COP26 on the energy transitiontowards green growth launched on August 17, Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, deputyminister of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, said that resources arethe biggest problem in realising the goals of the energy transition and movingtowards the net zero emissions target by 2050.

According to the World Bank’s calculation, to achieve net zero emissions, Vietnamneeds an additional 368 billion USD during 2022-2040, approximately 6.8% of GDPeach year.

Of which, the building resilience process alone will account for abouttwo-thirds of this amount because a significant amount of capital needs to bemobilised to protect assets and infrastructure as well as vulnerablepopulations.

The cost of the decarbonisation roadmap is mainly derived from the energysector, including the expense of investing in renewable energy and managing thetransition away from coal, which could cost about 64 billion USD during the2022-2040 period.

"Thanks to the fast growth of renewable energy and fuel swap of thermalpower plants, the CO2 emissions of the power development plan revision afterCOP26 have decreased sharply," said Hoang Tien Dung, director of theElectricity and Renewable Energy Department under the Ministry of Industry andTrade (MoIT).

CO2 emissions will peak in 2031 - 2035 at 231 million tonnes, then declinegradually. By 2045, CO2 emissions fall to about 175 million tonnes, which meansabout 208 million tonnes of CO2 reduction compared to pre-COP26 alternatives.By 2050, it is estimated that CO2 emissions from the power generation sectorwill be about 40 million tonnes per year, helping Vietnam meet its commitmentat COP26 of net zero emissions by 2050.

Attending the event, Dang Hoang An, deputy minister of MoIT, said that theenergy transition is not only the internal issue of the energy sector, but thetransition of the whole economy from an energy-intensive model to one that isenergy-efficient.

Electricity and energy demand will continue to grow along with theindustrialisation and modernisation of the country’s economy in the future,calculations from the MoIT showed. It is a challenge to meet the growth rate.

Therefore, the most important mission now is to build a suitable, feasible, andsustainable development strategy.

“I would like to stress the importance and urgency of cooperation in researchand development of energy science and technology on a global scale, especiallytechnology for large-scale power generation from new primary sources such ashydrogen, ammonia, advanced energy storage technology, and CO2 absorption andstorage technology,” An said, adding that it is necessary to raise awareness ofthe urgency of economical and efficient use of energy in all sectors of the economy.

Ngoc also proposed five ideas related to the energy transition in the future.The first is to carefully calculate the roadmap for the green and sustainabletransition to ensure national energy security.

Secondly, during the transition, it is necessary to reduce its impact onvulnerable groups, especially the effect of higher electricity bills on poorhouseholds and the transfer or job loss of workers in industries and fieldssuch as fossil energy to renewable energy.

Third, all parties involved in the transition are responsible for it. Four,completing the transition requires the support of finance and technology fromdeveloped countries.

Lastly, during the process of implementing the energy transition, it isnecessary to effectively carry out assessment, inspection, supervision, andrelated sanctions to limit and reduce investment, have alternative routes, andclose polluting production facilities and high-carbon infrastructure./.