Technical consultation seminar on VAS's findings

02/07/2024

On the morning of June 26, 2024, in Hanoi, the Ministry of Industry and Trade collaborated with the Danish Energy Agency and the Embassy of Denmark to organize a Consultation Workshop on "Selected Guidelines of the Voluntary Agreement Scheme (VAS) Operation Manual and VAS Findings”.

The seminar was conducted both offline and online, with the participation of Mr. Trinh Quoc Vu - Deputy Director of the Department of Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Development, Ministry of Industry and Trade; Mr. Hoang Van Tam - Deputy Chief of the Office of Climate Change and Green Growth, Ministry of Industry and Trade; Ms. Tran Hong Viet - Senior Program Manager, Embassy of Denmark; Mr. Jorgen Hvid - Long-term Advisor for the DEPP3 Program; along with numerous representatives from governmental agencies, experts, consultants, project managers, and production and business units.

During the opening speech, Mr. Trinh Quoc Vu outlined that the Vietnam-Denmark Energy Partnership Program for 2020-2025 (DEPP3) is a technical support project funded by the Danish Government and implemented by the Ministry of Industry and Trade in cooperation with the Danish Energy Agency and the Embassy of Denmark in Vietnam. The program includes three components, with the Department of Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Development overseeing Component 3. This component focuses on promoting energy efficiency and conservation (EE&E), aiming to encourage low-carbon development within Vietnam's industrial sector.

Mr. Trinh Quoc Vu, Deputy Director of the Department of Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Development, Ministry of Industry and Trade, delivering the opening remarks at the seminar.

Mr. Trinh Quoc Vu emphasized that a key activity of Component 3 is the proposal and design of the Voluntary Agreements Scheme (VAS) aimed at promoting energy efficiency and conservation (EEC) in the industrial sector. The scheme, which is being piloted from 2023 to 2025, provides technical support to key enterprises across various industrial sub-sectors to develop EEC investment projects. This includes conducting energy audits, developing pre-feasibility and feasibility studies, and preparing investment project documentation to access bank loans and other climate finance sources.

Over the past period, local and international consultants from the DEPP3 Program have developed a set of guidelines to support the implementation of VAS activities. Since June 2023, the VAS has been piloted in four Vietnamese companies in the wood processing, steel, and building materials sectors, and has already shown some positive initial results.

Mr. Jorgen Hvid, the long-term advisor for the DEPP3 program, discussed the general concepts of the Voluntary Mechanism and the reasons for promoting it.

At the seminar, DEPP3 program experts presented drafts of the guidelines for implementing the energy-saving voluntary agreements program, which includes guidelines for conducting energy audits and carrying out pre-feasibility studies. Additionally, experts and representatives from some of the companies participating in the VAS pilot shared their initial results from implementing the pilot projects.

Mr. Hoang Anh from RCEE-NIRAS presented the initial outcomes of the VAS pilot implementation at four enterprises, highlighting the practical impacts and improvements achieved through the program.

During the seminar, attendees exchanged views to refine the documentation supporting the implementation of the Voluntary Agreements Scheme (VAS) activities moving forward. The constructive feedback and valuable information shared at the seminar will serve as a basis for the Ministry of Industry and Trade to further research and refine the design of the VAS and implement it on a broader scale in the remaining phases of the project. The outcomes of the program will help the Ministry to enhance and add mechanisms encouraging energy efficiency activities in the industry, contributing to the objectives of the VNEEP3 program and the government's efforts to promote efficient energy use.

Here are some highlights from the seminar:

Technical experts from the Vietnam Scaling Up Energy Efficiency (VSUEE) speaks at the seminar.

Mr. Le Khac Giang, Deputy Manager of Energy Management and Deputy Production Manager at NatSteelVina, participated in the seminar.

The overall goal of the VAS is to promote investment in energy efficiency within key energy-consuming industries in Vietnam. Participating companies will receive support in developing investment projects for energy-saving and efficiency practices. They will also gain access to commercial financing to implement such projects; receive technical support for energy audits, pre-feasibility and feasibility studies, and the development of energy-saving investment projects.

Companies that sign the Voluntary Mechanism and adhere to its requirements will benefit from various incentives, such as: Initial screening of efficient energy usage plans based on existing energy audit reports and, if necessary, further assessments of potential energy-saving measures directly at the facilities. Support for initial energy audits, setting up a simplified EMS, and establishing reporting plans for VAS. Technical support to access commercial financing for energy-saving projects through the development of viable investment projects. Capacity building to access technology guidelines for participating industries and climate finance for energy-saving projects, and to comply with reporting requirements under the Environmental Protection Law for key energy-using facilities.

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