Under Decision No. 2346/QD-BNNMT signed recently by the Minister of Agriculture and Environment, the 11-member Steering Committee for establishing the Vietnam Green Transformation Association (VGTA) has been set up.

The Steering Committee is responsible for mobilizing Vietnamese organizations and citizens to register and apply for joining the Association in accordance with the provisions of law.

The first meeting of the Organizing Committee to prepare for the founding congress of the VGTA was held in Hanoi on June 29.

Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Dang Huy Dong, Director of the Planning and Development Institute (PDI) , Head of the Steering Committee , said that in the era of globalization, Vietnam is one of the countries that have participated most extensively in the global integration. 

Vietnam's total import-export turnover is nearly double the country's total GDP (with the trade turnover standing at $786.29 billion in 2024, while the GDP reaching $476.3 billion), proving the openness of the economy to the world. In particular, the combined trade surplus with major markets such as the EU, Japan and the U.S. amounts to hundreds of billions of dollars per year,  on average.

However, these are also the countries and territories that are at the forefront of imposing import policies and mechanisms which require for reducing greenhouse gas emissions through carbon crediting mechanisms and environmental - social - governance (ESG) responsibilities.

Specifically, with new mechanisms imposed on green stamps, on auditing and carbon credits, on ESG, a series of Vietnamese export products and goods are at risk of being subject to carbon taxes, leading to reduced competitiveness, even being banned from exporting to some markets in the world.

Maintaining trade balance in Vietnam's  important markets such as the EU, the US and Japan is a big challenge, requiring Vietnam to proactively transform itself through specific actions, with high determination from the whole community, from managers to each entrepreneur and scientist, according to Mr. Dang Huy Dong.

In particular, small and medium enterprises, small-scale production organizations, especially farmers, are facing a challenge of being eliminated from the game,  if they do not join an organization to gather and create collective strength, he added.

Vietnam is also a typical country that has made a strong commitment to achieving Net-zero goal by 2050. "This forces Vietnam to transform strongly if it does not want its goods to face the risk of being subject to carbon taxes, reduced competitiveness, or even being eliminated from the market," Mr. Dong emphasized. "The country and enterprise that is the first to recognize, act, and adapt best to the Net-zero goal will be the winner, otherwise it will fall behind and be left behind."

The Steering Committee for establishing the VGTA was set up in that context, with a desire to create a symbiotic ecosystem where businesses, scientists, experts, and managers work together and support each other to adapt to global green standards, access green funds, environmental funds, and green technology, thus contributing to improving the national competitiveness.

Mr. Dong also believes that the development and application of environmental and deflationary technology will certainly bring great economic benefits, enabling the Vietnamese economy to have a strong competitive position in the world, and each citizen and each business is both the driving force that creates that strength and the beneficiary of that growth.

"VGTA will be a bridge to help members easily access financial resources, technology, support policy access, help businesses gradually transform to green, save costs, and at the same time create new values," Mr. Dong shared. "VGTA will also provide policy advice to state management agencies, reflecting practical needs so that policies are realistic, suitable for the speed of technological development and global green market requirements."