What have been Vietnam’s key achievements in implementing the Vienna Convention, the Montreal Protocol, and the Kigali Amendment?
Vietnam joined the Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol in 1994, and in the time since has fully met its commitments and earned strong recognition from the international community. Its key achievements can be seen in three areas.
First, Vietnam has gradually built and strengthened its legal framework for implementing international commitments on ozone protection. Regulations governing and phasing out controlled substances have been incorporated into the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 and its implementing regulations. In particular, Decree No. 06/2022/ND-CP, as amended and supplemented by Decree No. 119/2025/ND-CP and Decree No. 83/2026/ND-CP, provides a framework for managing these substances from import and use through collection, reuse, recycling, and disposal.
Second, Vietnam has followed the prescribed timetable for controlling and phasing out controlled substances. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), halons, and carbon tetrachloride (CTC) have been completely phased out, while virgin hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC)-141b used in foam production has also been phased out. Vietnam is continuing its HCFC phase out, with consumption during 2025-2029 capped at 32.5 per cent of the baseline, equivalent to an import quota of 1,300 metric tons per year. Following the approval of the Kigali Amendment in 2019, Vietnam began managing HFCs through import quotas in 2024 as part of its phase-down schedule.
Third, implementation of the Montreal Protocol has driven technology conversion at businesses, along with training and capacity building for technicians in the refrigeration and air conditioning sector. Vietnam is also shifting from controlling refrigerant consumption toward managing refrigerants across their entire lifecycle, while promoting the collection, recycling, and reuse of refrigerants from equipment that is no longer in service.
According to the Ozone Secretariat, implementation of the Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol in Vietnam has helped prevent approximately 260 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) emissions. This shows how ozone protection measures can also deliver climate benefits.
After more than 30 years of implementing the Montreal Protocol, how is Vietnam entering a new phase of transition as it continues to phase out HCFCs while beginning the HFC phase down amid rising demand for cooling?
Vietnam is entering a transition phase in which it must continue phasing out HCFCs while beginning the HFC phase down under the Kigali Amendment, even as demand for cooling continues to rise.
The challenge cannot simply be to replace one refrigerant with another. If cooling demand continues to grow rapidly while equipment remains inefficient or systems are poorly operated, energy consumption and emissions will remain high.
The 14th National Party Congress resolution set a target for Vietnam to achieve double-digit economic growth while emphasizing the importance of green transition for sustainable development.
The management and phase out of ozone-depleting substances and greenhouse gases must therefore be addressed through an integrated approach with coordinated solutions. This should begin with the planning and design of buildings to create living spaces that are both cool and environmentally-friendly.
At the same time, equipment and system efficiency must be improved; high global warming potential (GWP) substances should be replaced with lower-GWP refrigerants suited to specific applications and safety requirements; refrigerants must be managed throughout their lifecycle; and technician capacity must be strengthened.
This is also how we approach “sustainable cooling”: not simply cooling with a different refrigerant but meeting cooling needs with lower energy consumption and a smaller climate impact.
What are the key policies and priorities for scaling sustainable cooling solutions and making them common practice in Vietnam?
Policies and measures for managing and phasing out ozone-depleting substances and greenhouse gases in Vietnam have been gradually strengthened. We will implement the relevant regulations and plans issued by the Prime Minister in a coordinated manner. A key priority is the National Plan on Management and Phase-out of Ozone-Depleting Substances and Controlled Greenhouse Gases, issued by the Prime Minister in Decision No. 496/QD-TTg dated June 11, 2024.
The Plan sets out specific timelines and measures, including the management of ozone-depleting substances and greenhouse gases; control of equipment containing these substances; management of their lifecycle from use and recovery through reuse, recycling, and destruction; and the promotion of sustainable cooling solutions in building planning and design. Coordinated implementation and stronger links among these measures will be critical to the plan’s effectiveness.
In recent years, alongside the strengthening of the policy framework for controlled substances, Vietnam has implemented programs and projects to support technology conversion, strengthen technical capacity, and promote refrigerant recovery, reuse, and recycling. These provide an important foundation for establishing a lifecycle approach to refrigerant management.
However, sustainable cooling is an interdisciplinary challenge. Reducing cooling demand is linked to building planning, design, and passive solutions; improving cooling efficiency depends on technology, equipment, and operating practices; while transitioning to more climate-friendly refrigerants requires compliance with technical and safety requirements as well as adequate technician capacity. Lifecycle refrigerant management also requires the participation of multiple stakeholders, from users and repair and maintenance providers to those involved in recovery, collection, reuse, recycling, and disposal.
Therefore, a key priority in the next phase is to strengthen connections between these different links while improving policy implementation; continue developing the necessary standards and technical requirements; build technical capacity; and strengthen coordination between regulators, businesses, research and training institutions, and other relevant organizations. The goal is to gradually bring sustainable cooling solutions into practice and make them common market practice.
What measures is the government taking to support and incentivize businesses and attract investment in sustainable cooling solutions?
Business participation is critical to putting controlled substance management and sustainable cooling goals into practice and scaling them across the market. This requires not only a stronger policy framework but also economic incentives and the right conditions for businesses to participate proactively.
Following Vietnam’s participation in the Global Cooling Pledge in 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment advised the Prime Minister to issue the National Plan on Management and Phase-out of Ozone-Depleting Substances and Controlled Greenhouse Gases, which sets out objectives, tasks, and measures for sustainable cooling. Decree No. 119/2025/ND-CP further institutionalized the concept of “sustainable cooling” and introduced additional incentives for such activities.
In addition, Decision No. 21/2025/QD-TTg on environmental criteria and certification of investment projects eligible for the green taxonomy provides a basis for qualifying sustainable cooling projects to be recognized under the taxonomy.
Alongside policy development, we will continue to strengthen outreach and guidance on regulatory implementation, coordinate training and capacity-building programs, and promote international cooperation to mobilize financial and technological resources and expertise to support businesses in the transition.
For businesses, the incentive to participate goes beyond compliance requirements and government support. Investing in more efficient cooling solutions can reduce energy costs, help businesses prepare for the refrigerant transition, strengthen competitiveness, and create new business opportunities. When the economic and environmental benefits are clearly quantified, businesses also have a stronger basis for accessing green credit, green bonds, climate funds, and international concessional financing.
Our goal, therefore, is to create a policy and market environment in which sustainable cooling is not simply an environmental requirement but an economically-viable investment choice.
What opportunities are there for sustainable cooling projects to participate in carbon credit-generating projects and tap carbon finance?
The carbon market could open an additional financing channel for some sustainable cooling projects. However, an activity that generates emissions reductions does not automatically qualify to generate carbon credits.
In the cooling sector, emission reductions can come from two main areas. First, indirect reductions through energy savings, such as using high-efficiency air conditioning systems, optimizing refrigeration systems in cold storage facilities, or applying more efficient cooling technologies in data centers. Second, direct emission reductions related to refrigerants, such as switching away from high-GWP refrigerants or preventing emissions through appropriate collection, recycling, and disposal.
For emission reductions to be converted into carbon credits, a project must comply with an approved methodology, demonstrate additionality, establish a baseline, and meet measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) requirements.
Therefore, I believe carbon finance should be viewed as a potential additional source of financing, rather than an automatic source of revenue for every sustainable cooling project.
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