Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha on July 31 hosted a reception for Mr. Yamada Takio, Special Advisor of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador of the Japanese government’s Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) initiative.

Congratulating  Mr. Yamada for his appointment as the AZEC Ambassador, the Deputy Prime Minister affirmed that the contents of the AZEC have been discussed, agreed upon and received commitments from senior leaders of Vietnam, Japan as well as partner countries.

The Deputy PM added that the realisation of the initiative should be demonstrated by specific projects such as those on improving the efficiency and reducing emissions of coal-fired power plants, switching from the use of coal and oil to natural gas, investing in offshore wind power, solar power, pumped-storage hydroelectricity, biomass power, and waste-to-power to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality, reducing net greenhouse gas emissions to zero (net zero) by 2050.

"We need to discuss specific and feasible contents, get to work and take business cooperation as the centre," he stressed.

Earlier, the Electricity and Renewable Energy Authority under the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam, the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) has established a working group for the implementation of the AZEC initiative.

The establishment of the working group is aimed at carrying out energy transition and green transition at power plants using fossil fuels in Vietnam; promoting renewable energy power generation such as developing rooftop solar power, offshore wind power, waste-to-energy, biomass power; developing power systems and electricity markets, and diversifying the electricity market including wholesale and retail.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hoang Long  held a working session on the implementation of the initiative with Mr. Yamada Takio  in Hanoi on July 30.

The two sides agreed to focus on researching and developing different sources of clean energy and new technology in the coming time as well as boost technology transfer to ensure wide access to clean energy.

The implementation of the AZEC initiative is expected to contributing to help Vietnam fulfil its commitments to net zero emissions by 2050 at the COP26.