Hanoi (VNA) – An international workshop to promote cooperation inensuring fairness in Vietnam’s energy transition  towards more eco-friendly power washeld by the Vietnam Union of Science andTechnology Associations (VUSTA), theFriedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Vietnam Office, and the Green Innovation and Development Centre (GreenID) in Hanoi on September 18.

Over100 experts, researchers, and representatives from State agencies, researchinstitutes, and domestic and international sci-technology organisationsdiscussed and shared experience in researching and building strategies toimplement fairness in Vietnam’s energy shift.

Theconcept of a “just energy transition” is nothing alien to Europe and North America,however it is still relatively new in Asia and Vietnam in particular. The just transition not only refers to the environmental impact, but must also include socio-economicchanges to promote global energy mobility and effectively implement targets setin the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

Speakingat the event, Le Duy Tien from VUSTA said that developing clean energy sources andreducing plants using fossil fuels that pollute the environment is anirreversible trend in the world, including Vietnam.

Hestressed, however, that due attention has not been paid to ensuring fairness inthe sector shifting fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, as well as in ensuringjobs for labourers and relevant communities.

Theworkshop offered a chance for policymakers and researchers of Vietnam to meetand discuss with experts from Germany, China, India, Indonesia, and Thailand,as well as getting an overview of what is going on internationally andregionally towards outlining appropriate policies to make the energy transition processin Vietnam fairer.

At the event, GreenID’s research group announced a study on the quantity andquality of jobs as the energy transition takes place and how to achieve a fair shiftin the energy sector in Vietnam.

According to NguyenHoang Nguyen, from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs andalso a member of GreenID, to build a 600MW coal-fired power plant, it takes anaverage of 2,000 labourers and three and a half years.

Nguyen said in the short and medium term (up to 2025), the number of jobs from theconstruction and maintenance of a coal project is higher than that from moreenvironmentally-friendly projects. However, she noted that the number of jobswill increase significantly after this period.

The employment structure will shift sharply towards increasing the proportionof the renewable energy sector. However, the current wage of workers in wind andsolar power plants is not higher than that of those working at thermal powerplants. Therefore, it is harder to attract more highly-skilled labourers.

Nguyen said that workers are not fully qualified with the necessary skills towork in the renewable energy sector, and that there are not many specific trainingestablishments in Vietnam, adding that the Government needs to provide vocationalskills training programmes for labourers in order to facilitate the transitionprocess.

It is also necessary to ensure the involvement of workers and local communitiesin making policies on energy development and shifts, she added.

According to Yvonne Blos, Director of the climate and energy project for FESVietnam,  FES aims to build more comprehensive ideas on fairness in the energy shift, thusforming a more sustainable and humane economy.

FES Vietnam and GreenID are working together to researchways to achieve fairness in Vietnam’s energy shift.

Under the revisedPower Plan VII, approved by the Government on March 18, 2016, coal-fired power willdecrease to 55,300 MW by 2030, accounting for 42.6 percent of the national powerstructure.

The study “Power DevelopmentScenarios in Vietnam” by GreenID indicates that, if considering theperipheral costs and prioritising the economical and efficient use of energy,Vietnam will have an opportunity to reduce its proportion of coal-fired powerto around 24.4 percent, increase the proportion of renewable energy to about 30percent, with electricity also playing a larger role, accounting for 22.8percent.

Experts underlined the necessity for Vietnam to develop a new long-term energyvision to improve access to energy and reduce greenhouse emissions; as well asto increase investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy, especially inwind and solar power.

The country alsoneeds to devise fiscal policies and regulations to promote and improve the capacityof renewable energy and energy efficiency, giving priority to remotecommunities in order to increase benefits for low-paid labourers and those in labour-intensiveindustries, they noted. –VNA