New project launched to accelerate green growth in Vietnam

A new project titled ‘Strengthening Capacity and Institutional Reform for Green Growth and Sustainable Development in Vietnam’ (CIGG) was launched at a workshop in Hanoi on January 21, seeking to boost the country’s efforts in accelerating green growth.  

The initiative, led by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), will be implemented in four years with a total cost of US$4.128 million, financed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Photo for Illustration (Photo: Thai Thien).

The CIGG project works to support capacity building and policy making for the effective implementation of Vietnam’s national green growth strategy and fulfillment of sustainable development goals. Assistance will be provided at both national and provincial levels to integrate green growth and low-carbon development into sectoral and provincial green growth action plans.

Vietnam is among countries in the region pioneering in green growth policy with its release of the National Green Growth Strategy in 2012 and National Action Plan on Green Growth last year, said MPI Deputy Minister Nguyen The Phuong, adding that the new initiative will further promote Vietnam’s ambitions in green investment and integrate greener growth in the country’s socio-economic development plan for the next five years.

Speaking at the event, Pratibha Mehta, UNDP Resident Coordinator in Vietnam, welcomed the US government’s participation in a new partnership to promote green growth across Vietnam, and thanked USAID for its financial contribution to this important initiative.

Hailing actions on climate change as good business sense and green investment as good investment, Mehta affirmed UNDP’s commitment to accompanying Vietnam on its green growth path and helping the country seize green investment opportunities.

US Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius considers the climate and environmental issues a good opportunity to bring Vietnam and the US closer together as the two countries are going to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the normalisation of diplomatic ties this year.

This project will assist Vietnam in a number of critical green growth-related areas, said Osius, clarifying that it will strengthen the capacity for the MPI, Ministries of Finance and Transport, and localities to effectively implement and monitor Vietnam’s green growth strategy and action plan, thus contributing to developing policies for promoting green growth-oriented investment and improving Vietnam’s access to green growth financing.

Under this new project, the MPI will review the country’s investment policy framework and work with the Ministry of Finance to access financial tools in order to identify gaps and potential policy reforms that will accelerate Vietnam’s transition to a greener economy. By focusing on removing barriers to green growth, the initiative is expected to support the establishment of a public - private partnership to take advantage of new green investment opportunities.

(Source: nhandan.org.vn)