Experts and representatives from Cambodia, China, Japan, Korea, Lao, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam gathered in Ha Noi today to discuss ways to promote green technology and reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
In their presentations, representatives of Viet Nam's Ministry of Industry & Trade, Ministry of Science & Technology and energy conservation consultancies indicated that Viet Nam has diverse energy resources but small reserves. Energy use is still largely inefficient and there is a significant potential for energy savings in both industry and households.
The Vice Ministers of Science & Technology and Industry & Trade highlighted the importance of energy conservation and energy efficiency for sustainable development in Viet Nam. They both stressed the achievements of a cooperation project between the Vietnamese government, UNDP and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) on energy conservation and energy efficiency.
From 2006 to 2011, the US$39 million project - "Promoting energy conservation in small and medium scale enterprises" - worked with more than 500 businesses on energy efficiency. As a result, cumulative energy savings of 232 kilo tons oil equivalent and a reduction of more than 944 kilo tons of CO2 were achieved. The benefits of the project will continue to be seen in the years to come through policies and mechanisms established by the project, such as the Loan Guarantee Fund, which so far has helped 50 enterprises to borrow money to invest in energy efficient technology.
"The project's success has brought many benefits to Viet Nam and has also had international implications," said Mr Chu Ngoc Anh, Vice Minister of Science and Technology.
"The project has helped connect 25 provinces and cities participating in energy efficiency and saving activities. Twelve of these provinces and cities have also developed policies on ways to support the energy efficiency of small and medium sized enterprises. The project has also greatly contributed to developing the Law on Energy Saving and Energy Efficiency, which was approved by the National Assembly last year," the Vice Minister concluded.
This message was echoed by Ms Setsuko Yamazaki, UNDP Country Director. "Energy efficiency not only helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the environmental impacts, but also reduces energy costs for businesses," she said. "New, clean technology can help businesses to produce higher quality products and prosper, thus generating more green jobs and contributing to poverty reduction."
During the workshop experts from Cambodia, China, Japan, Korea, Lao, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam presented experiences and lessons learnt on energy conservation and efficiency, financing and energy efficient technologies.
Following the workshop, participants visited Bat Trang pottery village, a handicraft village which has benefited from the UNDP/GEF project. Up to 123 enterprises and households have replaced coal burning kilns with cleaner gas kiln technology, thus saving tens of billions of VND, increasing the quality of products while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving local air quality.
By Le My
http://www.cpv.org.vn/cpv/Modules/News/NewsDetail.aspx?co_id=30293&cn_id=490707
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