Joining forces on Viet Nam’s pathway to net-zero emissions
Mid-May, the project “Support to Viet Nam for the Implementation of the Paris Agreement” (SIPA), serving as an interface for all International Climate Initiative (IKI) projects in Viet Nam, hosted the 2022 Interface Vietnam workshop under the overarching topic: Vietnam’s pathway to net-zero emissions by 2050, climate-resilient and nature-positive development. The aim of the event was to create a platform for knowledge transfer and exchange on shared challenges, synergies and the scaling-up of potential IKI projects among participants (namely the IKI implementing organisations, Vietnamese partners and representatives of donors). Vietnam’s announcement to reach climate neutrality by 2050, announced during COP26 in last November, set an inspiring background for the workshop.
In recognition and support of this commitment, Mr. Weert Boerner, Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy said, “On behalf of the German Government, let me express my highest appreciation to the Vietnamese government for the decision to pursue a climate neutrality path for Vietnam. Apart from the net-zero announcement made at COP26, we also very much welcome Vietnam’s further commitments to phase out coal-fueled power generation by the end of the 2040s, to reduce methane emissions by 30% by 2030 and to stop deforestation by 2030.”
IKI´s project work in Vietnam
The IKI is currently funding 39 bilateral, regional and global projects in Vietnam, 7 of which are bilateral projects with a volume of 24.3 million euros.
“Within the IKI, Vietnam is one of our priority countries, and we are very grateful for our good, trusting and long-standing cooperation with them,” said Philipp Behrens, Head of Division “International Climate Initiative (IKI), General issues of bilateral cooperation”, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), Germany.
Representatives from the Vietnamese Ministries, namely: the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Transport, and the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Agency also shared insights on the first steps taken by the government so far after COP26, as well as the road ahead toward a net-zero future for Vietnam.
“We look forward to the long-term support from the German Government and IKI specifically for our pathway towards a net-zero, climate-resilient and nature-positive future for Vietnam,” said Mr. Pham Van Tan, Deputy Director General, Department of Climate Change, MONRE, Vietnam. Attention was also paid to biodiversity and resource efficiency for a climate-resilient and nature-positive development.
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Delegation visit by representatives of the BMWK and IKI Office
The Workshop was embedded into a delegation visit by representatives of the BMWK and the Z-U-G gGmbH (IKI Office), which continued for another couple of days. The representatives had bilateral meetings with MONRE, MPI, MOIT and the EU Delegation, and visited two project sites – one in Lam Son and one in Dong Hoi City.
In Dong Hoi City, the SIPA project is supporting the city in piloting urban Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) projects to increase the capacities in flood water management and reduce heat stress. In a participatory approach, it was decided to implement a blended green park and water retention site, a Sustainable Drainage Solution (SuDS) and a façade greening and rooftop garden project. The implementation is complemented by awareness raising and capacity development activities on Ecosystem-based Adaptation.
In Lam Son, the delegation visited a sugar mill which is a close cooperation partner of the BEM project. Based on capacity building activities by BEM, the sugar mill developed procedures for the conversion of bagasse-based cogeneration plants into biomass power plants, and in turn informed the political debate regarding a feed-in-tariff for bioenergy.