Pursuant to the National Strategy for Green Growth by 2050 approved by the Prime Minister, Vietnam identified three strategic assignments: Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and promotion of clean renewable energy; green production, greening of lifestyles and promotion of sustainable consumption.

The Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai says that the strategy requires multiple policies and substantial actions to achieve its objectives. In particular, it should insist on communication and education to raise awareness towards green growth among people from all walks of life.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai at the workshop on solutions to implement the National Strategy for Green Growth

Innovation, finalization of the law, mechanisms and policies towards synchronization with the restructure of the economy, transformation of the growth model; institutional reforms to support enterprises to implement their restructuring and technological innovation are all needed.

Deputy Prime Minister suggested that the ministries, sectors and localities should study and propose innovative solutions to the Government to better attract the resources, application of the public-private partnership in the field of green investments as well as building the mechanisms and solutions to take the advantages of domestic and international resources for green growth.

With the broad participation of policymakers, professionals, businesses, the workshop addressed many current issues in socio-economic development, linked to environmental protection, effective response to climate change and ensuring social security of the country in the coming years.

The presentations at the workshop showed that despite impressive achievements after 30 years of renovation, the country's economy is still largely developed in quantity, rather than in depth, or for sustainability.

Specifically, the legal system, mechanisms, policies have not been synchronized nor complete, nor of high quality. The soil quality tends to decrease; 7.5 million hectares of land has been affected by desertification, 30,000 hectares are contaminated with asaline, alkaline, 300,000 hectares are exposed to seasonal or full-year drought. The pollution sources increase in number, size and degree of adverse environmental impacts.

60% of communes in rural areas do not have a waste collection system; the solid waste is disposed primarily by dumping. Most of the urban and 25% of Industrial Parks and Export Processing Zones have no concentrated sewage system.

Many kinds of rare and precious animals and plants are endangered, and decreased rapidly in number. The mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions per GDP unit remains high, about 2 tons of CO2, equivalent to $1,000.

Facing this situation, the Party Central Committee issued Resolution No. 24/2013 on active response to climate change, enhancing the resource management and environmental protection, which defines green growth the key tasks to be performed.

After 3 years of implementation, Vietnam has developed and amended its institutional mechanism, concrete action plans for the sectors, and economic restructuring in some certain fields. Besides, 16 provinces have enacted their green growth action plans. Many enterprises have prepared their plan for institutional restructuring, technological innovation, proactive investment in the industrial environment, organic agriculture with their ever growing scope.

Trong Tan