This morning (15 February 2022), the Ministry of Finance held a Roundtable on financing climate change. Permanent Vice Minister of Finance Mr. Tran Xuan Ha and Ms. Carolyn Turk - World Bank Country Director in Viet Nam co-chaired the discussion.
This morning (15 February 2022), the Ministry of Finance held a Roundtable on financing climate change. Permanent Vice Minister of Finance Mr. Tran Xuan Ha and Ms. Carolyn Turk - World Bank Country Director in Viet Nam co-chaired the discussion.
The Roundtable was also attended by Dr. John Murton - Special Envoy of the Government of the United Kingdom, Vice-Chairman of COP-26; Mr. Marcus Winsley - British Deputy Ambassador; experts from the World Bank and the British Embassy in Viet Nam and representatives of other Ministries including: Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Planning and Investment, Ministry of Industry and Trade, State Bank of Viet Nam and representatives from departments under the Ministry of Finance.
Vice Minister of Finance Tran Xuan Ha
Speaking at the Roundtable, Vice Minister of Finance Tran Xuan Ha informed that Viet Nam always actively and proactively engages with international partners in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change. The Vice Minister considered this an opportunity to transform the development model into a green, circular, low-carbon economy. The Vice Minister expressed that the discussion was a good opportunity for the parties to discuss issues of mutual concern, especially Viet Nam, as the goals of combating climate change and the implementation of commitments at COP-26 have become a central and urgent task of the Vietnamese government.
Overview of the seminar
Vice Minister Tran Xuan Ha also said that finance for climate change is one of the important issues regarding the implementation of plans and strategies for sustainable development, environmental protection and green growth of the country, and it is also crucial to the successful implementation of Viet Nam's commitments at COP-26. The Vice Minister said that at present, specific programs and projects are urgently developed and reviewed by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. During the working sessions, the Ministries made preliminary proposals for major projects and programs to mobilize capital sources from foreign governments, international organizations, banks, the private sector, etc. The mobilization of capital is essential in the context of Viet Nam's limited budget. For programs and projects that must be assigned to the private sector for implementation, it is necessary to ensure a safe financial system, guarantee sustainable public debt management, and contribute to sustainable growth, macroeconomic stability and economic restructuring in a positive way.
Ms. Carolyn Turk - World Bank Country Director for Vietnam
Speaking at the Roundtable, Ms. Carolyn Turk - World Bank Country Director for Vietnam said that at COP-26, the Government of Vietnam made important commitments which required participation of ministries and branches. The commitments of the Government of Vietnam to achieve zero emissions by 2050 as well as phase out coal power by 2040 would be ambitious goals. In addition, the Government of Vietnam has a lot of major goals and pillars in its socio-economic development strategy. "Achieving these desires at the same time requires huge resources. This is a huge burden for the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam in the future," Ms. Carolyn Turk shared.
The World Bank Country Director for Vietnam also informed that the WB's analysis showed Vietnam's advantage is that it can mobilize resources from the private sector. The challenge is to create an open environment so that the private sector can invest easily without risk. That requires a lot of activities related to the financial sector, banking sector, capital markets to promote full participation of the private sector.
A large portion of other financial resources come from the public sector. In this regard, the WB and ADB are willing to work with the Government of Vietnam to find a solution. Ms. Carolyn Turk said that the Ministry of Finance needs to determine how much money is needed to mobilize.
Dr. John Murton and Mr. Rahul Kitchlu at the seminar
At the seminar, Dr. John Murton - UK Government Special Envoy, COP-26 Vice President and Mr. Rahul Kitchlu - WB Infrastructure Program Manager made presentations on issues Vietnam would face in adapting to climate change and shared international experiences on responding to climate changes. Delegates attending the seminar also discussed and exchanged financial issues related to climate changes in Vietnam in order to achieve the goals of fighting climate change and implementing commitments concluded at COP-26.
On a concluding note, Vice Minister of Finance Tran Xuan Ha highly appreciated the presentations as well as the comments of the delegates attending the Roundtable. The Vice Minister said that these contents and subsequent regular exchanges with international organizations and development partners will be very helpful for the Ministry of Finance and relevant Ministries and branches to develop mechanisms and policies, create conditions for the private sector to access capital and allocate resources most effectively for the program.
Translator: Thu Trang
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