Carbon credit management to be strengthened towards NDC implementation

The Government chief tasked the Ministries: Industry and Trade, Transport, Construction, Agriculture and Rural Development, Natural Resources and Environment to promptly issue plans to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in line with Decree 06/2022/ND-CP, on greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction, ozone layer protection and carbon market development (Decree 06) in Viet Nam in Q3, 2024.

These ministries were also urged to work with relevant agencies to reach deals with international partners to develop carbon credit market, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, allocate emission quotas, carbon credit trading and create green financial resources for Viet Nam.

Specifically, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) bears the prime responsibility for early establishment of a national registration system for carbon credits, management of programs, projects, activities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create carbon credits for pilot implementation and carbon market development.

The MONRE was tasked to draft a new decree to amend and supplement several articles of Decree 06 which currently does not regulate the issuance of approval letters for international carbon credit transfers. The new decree must be submitted to the Government before July 30, 2024.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) was requested to work with relevant agencies and forest localities to build a database on the current status and evaluate the potentials to reduce emissions and absorb carbon from forests at national, regional and local levels until 2030 and with a view to 2050.

Before October 31, the MARD, relevant agencies and forest localities must completely define potentials for carbon credit sales and propose pilot policies and mechanisms for result-based carbon credit payments of high-quality, low-emission rice farming.

The Ministry of Finance was tasked to collaborate with the MONRE and relevant ministries to early finalize a project to develop the domestic market in Viet Nam.

Viet Nam currently houses 14.79 million hectares of forest, a coverage rate of 42 percent. The country is capable of selling some 40 million carbon credits for a revenue of US$200 million annually.

The Southeast Asian country is set to transfer to the forest financing organization 5.15 million tons of carbon dioxide that cost at least US$10 per ton in the 2022-2026 period.

Under its National Determined Contributions (NDC) report, Viet Nam targets to reduce 15.8 percent of emissions, equivalent to 146 million tons of carbon dioxide, and the figures are expected to increase to 43.5 percent and 403 million tons with international support.

Viet Nam has signed the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2015, targeted to cut emissions to net zero by 2050, and engaged in various initiatives such as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD ) and Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use./.