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After selling a considerable of carbon credits through the World Bank, the Vietnamese government is more optimistic about the prospects of the carbon credit market. According to statistics, Vietnamese corporations and organizations generate 41 million carbon credits, ranking fifth among countries in the world. Additionally, officials revealed plans to impose carbon emission quotas on the first batch of industries, including thermal power generation, cement, and steel, and adopt a total quantity control approach to price carbon credits.
In an interview with the Vietnamese newspaper Tuoi Tre, Tang The Cuong, Director of the Department of Climate Change under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), revealed that Vietnam has over 100 projects that obtained carbon credits for trading on international exchanges. In 2023, Vietnam sold 10.3 million carbon credits to the World Bank, earning 1.2 trillion Vietnamese dong (approximately USD 51.5 million).
The Vietnam Carbon Exchange is set to undergo a trial run in 2025 and officially launch in 2028. According to Tang The Cuong, the first phase will evolve enterprises with significant carbon emissions to trade on the platform, gradually including all 1,912 enterprises required to conduct greenhouse gas inventories.
MONRE will propose to the Prime Minister and disclose emission quotas for different industries over time, setting carbon emission quotations for enterprises accordingly. Industries such as thermal power generation, cement, and steel will be among the first affected.
Le Anh Tuan, Associate Professor at Can Tho University in Vietnam, emphasizes the necessity of formulating emission reduction and carbon capture strategies for the sustainable development of the national economy and environment. He highlights successful cases of forests and croppers in obtaining carbon credits for sale.
The Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has announced that the country recently signed an “Emissions Reduction Purchase Agreement” with the non-profit organization Emergent. The agreement aims to transfer 5.15 million tons of carbon dioxide at a minimum price of USD 10 per ton in the 2022-2026 period. According to official figures, Vietnam is able to sell 40 million carbon credits per year and earn USD 200 million.
From an enterprise perspective, taking proactive steps to address carbon emissions before being compelled to do so not only mitigate risks but also establish distinctive competitive advantages. For instance, Duc Giang Chemicals Group, a major player in industrial chemicals in Vietnam, with annual exports totaling millions of dollars, they also emit hundreds of thousands of tons of carbon dioxide annually. Over the past three years, they have been actively undergoing a green transformation, investing USD 12.5 million in developing carbon-neutral technology to convert carbon emissions into liquid carbon dioxide for sale.
