NDC Transport Initiative Viet Nam launched: “For our climate, transport decarbonization is key”

On 15 March 2021, Le Anh Tuan, Vice Minister of Transport, and Helene Paust, Deputy Head of Development Cooperation of the German Embassy co-chaired the kick-off meeting of the IKI-funded NDC Transport Initiative for Asia’s (NDC-TIA) Vietnam component. The Vice Minister highlighted that “Viet Nam committed to reducing its total GHG emissions by 9% compared to the Business-as-usual (BAU) scenario and by up to 27% with international support”. In her speech, Ms. Paust applauded Vietnam for being among the first countries to submit an updated NDC, emphasizing the value of transport decarbonization for climate protection and to fulfilling Viet Nam’s climate commitments under the Paris Agreement.

“The Ministry of Transport will work closely with GIZ to advance the project activities while ensuring the quality of the project’s products and the application of its results in state management activities”, assured the Vice Minister of Transport.

Regina Ecker, Country Director of GIZ added: “Climate change and environmental issues are huge topics of our time, not only related to Vietnam but a global challenge. (…) I’m pleased that now the German and Vietnamese governments, as global partners, are finding solutions to this problem together.”

Options for low-carbon mobility in Vietnam were outlined in a number of technical presentations. “It is the right time for Vietnam to develop an e-mobility roadmap to which the NDC-TIA project will contribute significantly”, said Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Prof Le Anh Tuan, consultant team leader, who led a study on electric mobility development in Vietnam. Electrifying the existing formal transit buses in Vietnam can reduce CO2 emissions from the urban transit system by 73% and eliminate around 10,000 tons of air pollutants annually. These benefits could be multiplied by electrifying 2-wheelers, and cars.

Besides the significance of e-mobility, there’s also a high potential for fuel economy according to study of Zifei Yang, Passenger Vehicles Program Lead at The International Council on Clean Transportation. “Fuel consumption standards are needed for Vietnam to catch up with the global decarbonization progress, with the potential to catch up with other country by setting a standard of 4l/100km in 2025, which is equivalent to an emission reduction rate of 6.6% annually”.

In Vietnam, NDC-TIA will support the MOT in developing and implementing their MRV system related to climate change activities in the transport sector and link it to national NDC monitoring. The programme will also support Vietnam in developing regulatory frameworks to support electric vehicle deployment at the city and national level and advance the development of a fuel economy policy.

More than 80 representatives from the government, private sectors, and development organisations participated in the kick-off meeting of the NDC-TIA Vietnam component.

The NDC TIA is being implemented in close cooperation with the SIPA Project and the IKI Interface at GIZ Vietnam, together with Ministry of Transport, for a lifetime of three years.