Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with large Korean corporations and enterprises on March 4. (Source: VGP)

Model of green growth

Last year was recorded as the hottest year in human history, which shows that the impacts of climate change in recent years are becoming more and more serious and the international community's joint response to this issue is more urgent than ever.

In that context, I believe that the fourth Partnership for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G) Summit hosted by the Government of Vietnam will be a turning point to strengthen international action to respond to climate change and promote sustainable development.

Korean Ambassador to Vietnam Choi Young Sam. (Source: Korean Embassy in Vietnam)

This summit, held under the theme of “Sustainable Green Transformation, with People at the Center”, is expected to serve as an important orienting point and catalyst to realize the goal of protecting vulnerable groups in society and creating new opportunities for the green industry in the transition to carbon neutrality.

In particular, P4G is even more anticipated as it is a comprehensive platform that not only involves the government but also businesses and civil society to seek to promote collaboration focused on innovative initiatives and actions.

At the same time, this P4G Summit is also a good opportunity to highlight Vietnam's leadership role in the climate field in the Asian region. As a country that has shown positive determination to respond to climate change, Vietnam is in a position to represent the voice of many countries, including Southeast Asian countries.

In addition, Korea is actively supporting Vietnam to successfully organize the Conference based on its experience in hosting the second P4G Summit in 2021.

Therefore, this P4G Summit will be an opportunity to combine the initiative of Korea, a country that plays a role as a bridge connecting advanced and developing countries in the field of climate change, with the capacity of Vietnam, a country that is emerging as a model of green growth among developing countries.

The Korean Ambassador said that the P4G Summit taking place in April is expected to be a place to promote inclusive climate change response through the discovery of innovative ideas. (Photo: Jackie Chan)

Strong effort and commitment

As a developing country vulnerable to the climate crisis and required to maintain economic growth, Vietnam has been strengthening policies to achieve both sustainable development goals and greenhouse gas emissions reduction.

At the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) held in Glasgow, Scotland, UK, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh announced that Vietnam will achieve zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and expressed his determination to respond to climate change to the international community.

Since then, the Vietnamese Government has made continuous efforts to achieve both goals, including developing a comprehensive plan to peak greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2050.

Vietnam's response to climate change is also closely linked to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) domestically.

In addition, the Vietnamese Government has paid attention to the strengths of the P4G mechanism in promoting green startups in developing countries and has actively participated in the P4G Partnership Program after its launch in September 2017, while making continuous efforts both domestically and internationally to host the P4G Summit in 2025.

The P4G Summit, which will take place in April, is expected to be a venue to promote inclusive climate change responses through the discovery of innovative ideas. Korea hopes to contribute to the process of establishing P4G’s vision and future goals together with Vietnam through exchanges between Korea, a P4G sponsor, and Vietnam, a country that can represent the realities and needs of developing countries.

Many Korean enterprises in Vietnam are interested in green investment projects. (Source: Dan Tri)

Specific cooperation, practical efficiency

Korea and Vietnam, which have cooperated closely economically since establishing diplomatic relations in 1992, have also built a leading partnership in the field of climate change. Under the P4G framework, the two countries have completed or are implementing cooperation projects in areas such as food/agriculture, energy, water, urban areas, etc., and are expected to expand and deepen their partnership under the P4G framework in the future.

The two countries signed the “Climate Change Cooperation Framework Agreement between the Government of Vietnam and the Government of the Republic of Korea” on the occasion of the P4G Summit held in Seoul in May 2021, thereby creating a policy foundation for international emission reduction projects.

I hope that on that basis, Korea will utilize its carbon emission reduction technology and capital to implement greenhouse gas emission reduction projects in Vietnam and jointly recognize those results to continue building a mutually beneficial emission reduction model for both countries. At the same time, I hope that Korean enterprises possessing green technology will actively respond to the Vietnamese Government.

Furthermore, the two countries will also actively cooperate in terms of human capacity building and civil society engagement. Responding to climate change requires not only policies and technologies, but also awareness and capacity of the whole society.

Therefore, it is necessary to further promote activities such as training programs for Vietnamese civil servants and experts, exchanges between universities and research institutes, and connections with non-governmental organizations based on Korean experience.

In the “Carbon Neutrality Framework Act” enacted in 2021, the Korean government has highlighted the need to address economic, environmental, and social inequalities that may arise in the process of realizing a carbon neutral society, and has legislated the implementation of carbon neutrality in a way that ensures the democratic participation of all citizens and reflects the representation of various social classes.

Korea emphasizes that an inclusive climate policy that fully considers social equity and protection of vulnerable groups in the process of greenhouse gas emission reduction and energy transition, the need to minimize the impact on workers and communities caused by industrial transformation in the process of moving towards carbon neutrality by 2050 and protecting vulnerable groups from climate disasters, is necessary.

In fact, South Korea is implementing measures to support regions to phase out thermal power plants and support the conversion of projects to green projects.