Vietnam's national strategy on green growth sets a goal of sustainable economic development through reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing the use of renewable energy and protecting natural resources.
To realize this goal as well as the commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, mobilizing green financial resources and building a green classification list is considered an important foundation.
According to Ms. Truong Hoang Diep Huong - Institute of Banking Science Research, Banking Academy, the effectiveness of green credit does not mainly depend on the scale of capital sources, but lies in the formation of a synchronous green transformation support ecosystem. Reality shows that many countries do not lack green capital sources, but face difficulties in identifying and evaluating projects that truly meet green criteria.
China is one of the countries with a rapidly developing and large-scale green financial system. This process is associated with the requirement to treat pollution, reduce resource dependence and achieve the goal of reaching a carbon emission peak before 2030, and carbon neutrality before 2060.
An important tool used by China is the green classification list - a system to identify activities, projects and assets that meet green criteria. This is considered a "common language" between management agencies, credit institutions, businesses and investors.
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Manh Hung - Deputy Director of the Institute of Banking Science Research, Banking Academy - said that the green classification list is not a single credit policy, but a basis for identifying capital flows to be allocated to the right target, integrated with statistics, information disclosure, banking assessment and supporting monetary tools.
Many large banks such as ICBC and Bank of China have internalized green standards into appraisal, portfolio management and ESG reporting. Research shows that banks apply green credit officers at branches, label by industry, use environmental violation data from management agencies and apply environmental veto mechanisms when projects do not meet standards. Thanks to this, the green classification portfolio not only expands credit, but is also a tool for long-term credit risk screening" - Mr. Hung informed.
According to market data, green credit balance in domestic and foreign currencies reached 15.9 trillion RMB at the end of 2021, 30.08 trillion RMB at the end of 2023, about 36.6 trillion RMB at the end of 2024 and 44.8 trillion RMB at the end of 2025.
Experience from China shows that, besides capital, building a unified and transparent set of green standards is a prerequisite for green capital to be allocated to the right address, contributing to promoting the green transformation and sustainable development.
