On April 23, in Hanoi, the Forum "Utilizing resources to promote green growth 2026" clarified the increasing pressure from the new "rules of the game" of the global market, forcing businesses to shift towards greening.
Speaking at the Forum, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Quang Tuan - Vice President of the Vietnam Economic Science Association emphasized that current growth cannot only be based on speed, but must go hand in hand with sustainability. The traditional growth model based on resource exploitation, cheap labor and participation in low-value segments is gradually revealing limitations as these resources are increasingly declining.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Quang Tuan believes that green growth is the solution to the dual development problem: both maintaining growth rate and ensuring sustainability. One of the major pressures promoting green transformation comes from the change of the international context. Large markets, especially the European Union (EU), are increasingly tightening environmental and emission standards. Not only stopping at requirements for quality or price, international partners also require businesses to be transparent about the entire production process, including carbon emission data.
The world is changing greatly and setting new rules of the game for the world economy and Vietnam. This creates no small pressure on Vietnamese businesses, especially key export industries such as textiles and garments. If they do not adapt in time, the risk of losing markets is completely real. However, on the contrary, this is also an opportunity for businesses to upgrade technology, improve production processes and increase value in the global supply chain.
At the national level, the Green Growth Strategy for the period 2021-2030, vision to 2050 has clearly identified the direction of economic restructuring and growth model innovation. However, the actual implementation process is still slow and lacks synchronization, requiring stronger and more drastic solutions," Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Quang Tuan said.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Quang Tuan said that green growth needs to be promoted on four main pillars including: Green energy and infrastructure development; industrial upgrading; expanding green finance; and improving resilience to climate change. In which, science and technology, innovation and digital transformation play a key role, deciding the effectiveness of the transition process.
Notably, growth resources are clearly shifting, from natural resources and cheap labor to technology, high-quality human resources and innovation. This is considered an important foundation for forming a more modern and sustainable growth model in the future.
At the Forum, Mr. Nguyen Trung Thang - Deputy Director of the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Agriculture and Environment (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment), said that the State has issued many mechanisms to encourage businesses to transition to green.
Environmental protection activities are supported in terms of land, infrastructure, capital and taxes. Credit institutions are encouraged to prioritize funding for green projects on preferential terms; at the same time, businesses can access capital from the Government and international partners.
Notably, Resolution 198/2025/QH15 stipulates an interest rate support of 2%/year for green projects, circular economy and the application of ESG standards, creating more motivation for the private sector to participate in the transformation.
In public procurement, products with the Vietnamese Ecolabel are prioritized for use in projects with budget capital, contributing to expanding the market for environmentally friendly products.
However, according to Mr. Thang, the implementation process still has many obstacles. The system of guiding documents is incomplete and lacks synchronization between fields such as green credit, green bonds and green public procurement. Administrative procedures and conditions for accessing capital sources are still complicated.
Along with that, the database on green projects is still lacking, the supervision capacity is limited, and there is a potential risk of "fake green". Financial resources do not meet requirements, while businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, are still limited in terms of human resources, capital and management capacity.
To overcome this, it is necessary to soon complete guiding documents, simplify administrative procedures, and build a transparent data system on green projects. In addition, it is necessary to strengthen international cooperation to mobilize financial resources and improve capacity for stakeholders," Mr. Thang proposed.
