On the afternoon of June 15, at the fourth session of the Hanoi People's Council, delegates raised many questions related to the Resolution supporting the conversion of road transport vehicles from using fossil fuels to using clean energy and encouraging the use of public transport in the city.
According to the draft Resolution, poor households are supported with 100% of the value of vehicles when converting from gasoline cars to electric vehicles but not exceeding 20 million VND. The delegate said that in reality, the city almost no longer has poor households, and proposed that the People's Committee carefully re-evaluate this subject.
Not only Hanoi City People's Council delegates but also many people when hearing this information have a common question: Hanoi currently has no poor households, so why is it still building policies for poor households?
However, the explanation of the City People's Committee shows that this is a preparation for the future. According to forecasts, when adjusting the multidimensional poverty line in the near future, about 7,500 near-poor households can be identified as poor households according to new criteria.
If not anticipated from now on, the government will have to amend and supplement policies when problems arise. From the perspective of state management, this approach shows proactiveness, instead of waiting for problems to arise before finding solutions.
More importantly, Hanoi is determined to implement a green transition roadmap in transportation to reduce emissions and improve air quality. This is a correct and necessary goal for a large city facing a lot of pressure from environmental pollution.
However, any conversion also entails certain costs. For people with well-off economic conditions, replacing a gasoline motorbike with an electric vehicle may not be a big problem.
But for households in difficult circumstances, low-income workers, workers or freelancers, it may be a cost that is not easy to manage.
If only regulations are issued to restrict vehicles using fossil fuels without considering the adaptability of people, especially low-income people, the transition process will be difficult to achieve the desired efficiency.
Hanoi's plan to support a maximum of 20 million VND for poor households is of positive significance. This support can help people own an electric vehicle to serve basic travel needs without having to spend too much extra.
However, besides poor households, the city also needs to continue to study appropriate support mechanisms for low-income workers, workers, and freelancers - subjects who are also directly affected by the vehicle conversion process.
Green transformation is an inevitable trend of sustainable development. But for that journey to be truly successful, besides the determination of the government, the consensus of the people is also needed.
And to have that consensus, all policies must ensure that no one is left behind on the path towards a greener, cleaner and more sustainable living environment.
