Deputy PM urges ministry to build green growth criteria

ABO/NDO - Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has asked the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to formulate a set of green growth criteria so as to harmonise economic growth with environmental protection.
The request was made at a MONRE conference on December 30 to review the implementation of environmental policies in 2020.
He also called for efforts to control large sources of waste, prevent the risk of negative environmental incidents, step up programmes to deal with pollution and improve air and water quality.

Deputy PM Trinh Dinh Dung at the conference (Photo: VGP).

According to environment minister Tran Hong Ha, 2020 was difficult year for Vietnam with the impact of Covid-19 and natural disasters but the ministry still managed to record encouraging achievements.
He highlighted the introduction of major policies, especially the 2020 Law on Environmental Protection, aimed at achieving harmony between socio-economic development and environmental protection and enhancing effectiveness in using natural resources for national development.
Over the past year, environmental authorities also worked with functional agencies to uncover and punish violations of environmental regulations as well as enhance public awareness on environmental protection.
Furthermore, natural resources were also managed strictly and used effectively, with illegal mining fundamentally eliminated.
The licensing of mining rights via bidding was also promoted with 300 mining areas successfully permitted, raising total budget revenue from mining to VND23 trillion (US$995.8 million) over the past five years.
At the conference, representatives of provinces, cities and ministries also put forward proposals to enhance effectiveness in land use management and step up environmental protection remedies, among others.

(Source: NDO)