UK supports financiers to accelerate Vietnam’s Net Zero transition

This webinar was held one month after COP26 President Alok Sharma’s second visit to Vietnam in February 2022. During his visit, Sharma commended Vietnam’s ambitious climate commitments to reach Net Zero by 2050, phase out coal-fuelled power generation in the 2040s and increase its installed renewable energy generation capacity.

The Vietnamese Government recently established a National Steering Committee to implement Vietnam’s commitments at COP26, led by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. The move shows the government’s strong resolve to align economic growth with long-term environmental sustainability.

Meanwhile, corporates and financial institutions also play a pivotal role in realising the country’s Net Zero target by 2050 and the energy transition needs to be central in this journey.

Against this backdrop, the webinar featured notable representatives from the private and public sectors who discussed the significance of Vietnam's Net Zero commitment and highlighted their respective efforts to translate ambition into action in the energy transition.

Addressing the event, Don Lam, Co-Founder and CEO of VinaCapital Group, who has worked in Vietnam for more than two decades, pointed out that Vietnam’s public commitment at COP26 to achieving Net-Zero carbon emissions by 2050 is an acknowledgement by the government that it must do more to transition the country’s electricity generation mix to cleaner and more sustainable sources.

“VinaCapital has been active in liquefied natural gas and renewables such as solar and wind, serving as a local partner to global energy leaders like GS Energy and EDF and enabling them to bring their extensive experience and expertise to Vietnam. We look forward to welcoming more investment into this sector in the months and years ahead,” said Don Lam.

The webinar also included a panel discussion on the topic of "Navigating the Challenges & Opportunities in Accelerating Vietnam’s Net Zero Transition".

One of the panelists, Chris Stephens, Director for Asia and Africa at the Carbon Trust, noted a contributing factor to the Carbon Trust’s confidence that COP26 has the potential to keep the 1.5-degree target alive is the increasingly active participation of businesses and financial institutions in addressing the climate crisis, but there is much more to do.

“Our work in Vietnam with a wide range of institutions and corporates demonstrates that if Vietnam is to succeed in its climate ambitions a range of solutions will be needed to unlock the scale and pace of capital flows into Net-Zero aligned activities to secure the country’s position as a genuine climate leader,” said Stephens.

Britsih Deputy Consul General and Head of Trade & Investment in Ho Chi Minh City, Sam Wood, concluded the webinar, calling on corporates and financial institutions to take action to build on COP26’s momentum and contribute in practical ways.

“It is the responsibility of all governments, investors and businesses to act now and play their part in enabling the aims of the Paris Agreement. The UK is proud to work closely with Vietnam on the effective rollout of green finance. We hope to see the UK and Vietnamese companies continuing to innovate and to find ways to reduce their energy consumption, improve their energy efficiency and take robust action toward offsetting emissions”.

The webinar attracted more than 100 online attendees, representing prominent corporates and financial institutions such as PwC, Prudential, Citibank, and Standard Chartered, some of whom have played an influential role in shaping Vietnam’s sustainability progress.