Vietnam shows strong promise in developing carbon market: seminar

A consultation workshop on "Opportunities for Trading Forest Carbon Credits in Vietnam" was held in Hanoi on December 4.

The workshop updated the progress of the Emission Reductions Payment Agreement (ERPA) implementation, and the legal framework related to the domestic carbon market and international carbon credit transactions of Vietnam.

Additionally, it consulted on the initial evaluation results of trading options for surplus emission reductions from the ERPA Program and future forest carbon credit programs and projects; and assessed potential buyers of surplus emission reductions from the ERPA Program and future forest carbon credits.

Under the ERPA , Vietnam reduced 16.2 million tons of CO₂ emission during 2018–2019 period, independently verified by Aster Global. Of which, the amount of CO2 credit transferred to the World Bank (WB) under the ERPA is 10.3 million tonnes, leaving a surplus of 5.9 million tons. Recently, an additional 1 million tons of CO₂ was approved for transfer by the government, resulting in a surplus of around 4.9 million tons.

WB experts suggest that with the remaining emission reductions, Vietnam should consider how to use them most beneficially for the set goals and commitments. Accordingly, it is necessary to determine the options for using these emission reduction results, including both exchange and effective commercialization of forest carbon credits to maximize profits, benefits, including financial benefits, and contributions to Vietnam's greenhouse gas emission reduction goals.

The WB has provided technical support for Vietnam to evaluate the options for using forest carbon credits, initially focusing on the remaining 4.9 million tons of CO₂ from emission reductions. Specifically, this includes exchange forms such as offsetting for Vietnam's carbon credit trading system; or commercializing by selling to third parties through direct or indirect transactions.

Currently, some organizations like the LEAF Coalition and some foreign companies like Amazon, Eni, etc., have contacted and expressed interest in purchasing Vietnam's forest carbon credits. Additionally, survey results show that 7 out of 15 surveyed organizations expressed interest and desire to discuss further with the Vietnamese government about purchasing this emission reduction amount.