Greenhouse gas inventory plan adding to climate crisis awareness

Greenhouse gas inventory plan adding to climate crisis awareness, illustration photo

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) is collecting public opinions for a drafted decision on issuing a list of sectors and establishments that would be required to conduct GHG inventories next year.

The listed sectors and establishments belong to industry and trade, transport, agriculture and rural development, natural resources and environment, and construction.

According to the draft, the actors required to carry out GHG inventories are thermal power plants, industrial production establishments with total annual energy consumption of at least 1,000 tonnes of oil, and freight transport companies and commercial buildings with total annual energy consumption of 1,000 tonnes and more, as well as waste treatment facilities from 65,000 tonnes.

These facilities are deemed to have annual GHG emissions of over 3,000 tonnes.

Over 2,200 facilities and establishments have been placed on the list. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has added the most, at 1,800 facilities. The emissions of the 2,200 account for 30 per cent of the whole country’s figure.

Luong Quang Huy, head of the Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction and Ozone Layer Protection Division under the MoNRE’s Department of Climate Change, said that the issuance of the list will help determine GHG emission quotas and develop carbon markets with the involvement of businesses operating in different economic fields.

“The list is based on ensuring the feasibility for enterprises to keep an inventory and comply with the country’s economic condition and regulations,” Huy said.

Tran Dang Khoi, country manager for Vietnam at Indian energy producer Hero Future Energies Pvt., Ltd., told VIR, “The issuance of such a list is reasonable following international practices and Vietnam’s commitment on GHG emission mitigation.”

However, he added, the timeline for conducting the inventories could be too tight for enterprises as they need a lot of time for preparation. “Also, the awareness of businesses, especially domestic ones, for reducing GHG emissions remains limited, and their responsibilities are not clearly defined.”

Khoi further added that some foreign-invested enterprises will have more advantages because of their greater awareness of the importance of GHG emissions thanks to their activities in international markets.

“Thus, they are applying solutions to offset emissions, such as rooftop solar panels and carbon trade. Meanwhile, domestic enterprises have not yet caught up with this trend and often put profits first.”

According to the assessment of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the electricity consumption of commercial buildings in Ho Chi Minh City by 2030 could reach 14 billion kWh, equivalent to CO2 emissions of nearly 12 million tonnes.

Last October, the prime minister promulgated a list of over 3,000 key energy users across the country in industry, agriculture, transport, and construction.

The energy sector, including thermal power plants, petrochemicals, and oil facilities, is the heaviest consumer of energy. For example, Vung Ang 1 Thermal Power Plant used one million tonnes of energy in 2019. Meanwhile, Long Son Petrochemicals Co., Ltd. used 423,982 tonnes in the same year, and Haiphong Thermal Power Plant stood at 2.64 million tonnes.

In the industrial sector, manufacturers like Canon Vietnam, Hoya Glass Disk Vietnam, Honda, and Vina Cell Technology are also on list because their energy consumption lies between 4,000-500,000 tonnes per year. Almost all cement manufacturing facilities are also reported to use at least over 10,000 tonnes a year.