Prime Minister’s plan to meet the Glasgow COP’s “Global Coal to Clean Power Transition Statement” calls for JETP contribution
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has approved a plan to mobilise domestic and international resources for power sector development and the end of coal power, calling for international cooperation and support of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP). To implement the Glasgow commitment on coal phase-out, the decision suggests phasing out outdated and inefficient facilities, implementing co-firing technology and carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) for modern plants, and accelerating the expansion of renewable energy.
At the UN Climate Conference COP26 in Glasgow (2021), countries committed to phasing out coal for the first time. Viet Nam was among these frontrunner countries in signing the Global Coal to Clean Power Transition Statement, a crucial step in implementing the net-zero pledge that Prime Minister Chinh made at the same conference.
Released in February 2025, the Prime Minister’s Decision 266/QD-TTg proposes a three-step approach to implementing the commitments outlined in the Clean Power Transition Statement. The first phase is scheduled to run until 2030, the second phase from 2031 to 2040, and the final phase from 2041 to 2050. In the first phase, renewables are expected to grow in line with demand, securing a constant share of the energy mix between 29.2% and 37.7%. Co-firing of biomass fuels and ammonia at coal-fired power plants, along with carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), will be piloted. The first biomass fuel co-firing tests at coal-fired power facilities with Japanese Erex Co. were announced in March 2025. If emission targets cannot be met otherwise, two old power plants with 540 MW coal capacity will be decommissioned.
New coal power plants shall not be commissioned from 2031 onwards, and existing plants will be gradually transitioned to 100% biomass or ammonia fuelling, alongside the further roll-out of . Old and inefficient coal power plants will be decommissioned. No more coal power plants are to be operated after 2050, with all either being converted to renewable energy and equipped with CCUS or decommissioned.
Considering the budget, MOIT is instructed to evaluate the impacts on electricity pricing and develop a plan for adapting prices until 2045. In addition to national resources, funding from the international community is explicitly wanted. It suggests securing official development assistance (ODA) and international funding, i.e. through the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) as well as the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC). The decision also explicitly wants to strengthen international technical and scientific cooperation with the private sector and development organisations to adopt modern technologies, increase capacity in management, construction and regulation, and facilitate technology transfer.
The Prime Minister’s decision comes just before the revision of the 8th Power Development Plan (PDP8), which is currently under consultation. Likely, the announced steps will also be reflected in the revised PDP8, including detailed modelling of GHG emission impacts. The decision is an important reiteration of Viet Nam’s commitment to ending coal while also a call to the international community to support the country’s efforts.