Minister Dang Quoc Khanh received a delegation from the EU-ASEAN Business Council (EU-ABC)

Participating in the meeting from the MONRE were Mr. Dang Ngoc Diep, Director General of the Department of Planning - Finance (DOPF); Mr. Phan Tuan Hung, Director General of the Department of Legal Affairs (DLA); Mr. Tang The Cuong, Director General of the Department of Climate Change (DCC); Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung, Deputy Director General of the Vietnam Agency of Seas and Islands (VASI); Mr. Hoang Van Thuc, Director General of the Pollution Control Department (PCD); Mr. Tran Tuan Ngoc, Director General of the National Remote Sensing Department (NRSD); Mr. Le Ngoc Tuan, Director General of the Department of International Cooperation (ICD); Mr. Pham Tan Tuyen, Chief of the Office; and Mr. Nguyen Tien Duy, Deputy Chief of the Party Personnel Committee Office.

Mr. Noel Clehane, Vice Chairman of EU-ABC

From the high-level delegation of the EU-ASEAN Business Council and the EU business community in Vietnam, there were Vice Chairman of EU-ABC Noel Clehane; Vice Chairman of EuroCham Vietnam Jean-Jacques Bouflet, and representatives from 26 EU companies currently operating or wishing to operate in Vietnam.

During the meeting, Minister Dang Quoc Khanh and Vice Chairman Noel Clehane agreed to further promote business cooperation, investment, and trade activities in Vietnam, contributing to the socio-economic development process and environmental protection goals, particularly the goals that Vietnam has committed to achieving, such as Net-Zero emissions by 2050.

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Dang Quoc Khanh

In their discussions, Vice Chairman Noel Clehane, Vice Chairman of EuroCham Vietnam Jean-Jacques Bouflet, and several representatives from the EU-ASEAN Business Council expressed their desire for the MONRE to share and discuss issues related to Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR); the direction for carbon market development; policies for renewable energy development; strategies for the development and application of space science and technology, particularly related to automatic Earth observation satellites; amendments to Decree 08; the National Marine Spatial Planning for renewable energy development and the blue economy.

Minister Dang Quoc Khanh affirmed that these topics are areas where the MONRE hopes to receive support and cooperation from the council's member businesses and EuroCham in the coming time.

Minister Dang Quoc Khanh presented souvenirs to delegation members

Regarding EPR, the Ministry's stance is to always listen to feedback to improve policies, including EPR regulations, to ensure a favorable, transparent business environment that addresses business difficulties while enabling companies to participate in recycling packaging and discarded products, thereby contributing to environmental protection.

On the carbon market, Vietnam prioritizes developing a carbon market as an effective tool for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the future. The MONRE is currently working with the Ministry of Finance to establish a carbon market in Vietnam. Minister Dang Quoc Khanh expressed a desire to learn from the EU's experiences in carbon market development. Particularly, it is hoped that member businesses of the council and EuroCham, such as banks and international financial institutions, will support and cooperate with the Ministry in preparing to establish the carbon market and in formulating carbon pricing policies.

Vietnam has identified the application of carbon pricing tools as a support for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Alongside the roadmap for establishing and operating the domestic carbon market, the Prime Minister has assigned relevant ministries to study and propose regulations and timelines for applying carbon taxes in Vietnam.

On renewable energy development, to serve the development of offshore wind energy, the MONRE has completed the National Marine Spatial Planning, which has been submitted to the Government for the National Assembly's consideration and decision. The Minister stated that once the Planning is approved by the National Assembly, it will be the basis for continuing investigations, surveys, evaluations, and identification of specific areas for wind power development.

Regarding the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), Minister Dang Quoc Khanh welcomed the interest of council and EuroCham member businesses in participating in JETP. This is a transition process with significant socio-economic impacts, requiring substantial financial and technological resources. For partners interested in joining Vietnam, the Minister has assigned specialized units to conduct comprehensive assessments to report to the Prime Minister and the Steering Committee for timely directives.

Additionally, Minister Dang Quoc Khanh discussed tasks related to the development and application of space science and technology, as well as the operation of the VNREDSat-1 satellite; low-emission rice production projects; policies to support businesses in accessing clean energy sources; timely amendments to Decrees to report to the Government for early issuance of regulations to facilitate business development.

The Minister also expressed a desire that through today's meeting, the EU-ASEAN Business Council would propose target programs to support Vietnam in financial resources, science and technology to solve current issues in waste and wastewater treatment; green economic development; helping Vietnam exploit and leverage its potentials and strengths in green energy, renewable energy, and marine resources. The MONRE is ready to provide information, exchange, dialogue, and always accompany EU-ASEAN and EuroCham in green economic development programs and sustainable development in the future.
Vice Chairman Noel Clehane expressed his deep impression with Minister Dang Quoc Khanh's message and supposed that the success of EU-ASEAN and EuroCham depends on Vietnam's development towards green goals, and therefore, they are ready to support Vietnam in terms of finance, resources, policies, and science and technology to build common goals between the two sides.

Ngoc Huyen (NRE Newspaper)