On December 24, at the Government Headquarters, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha chaired a meeting to listen to a report on the approval of the total greenhouse gas emission limit for 2025-2026.
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan proposed reviewing and evaluating the method of determining and allocating emission quotas, in which it is necessary to take into account actual production, differences in technology, equipment and raw materials between facilities and levels.
At the same time, there needs to be an independent measurement and inspection mechanism to ensure honest emissions data, because specialized management ministries can only appraise processes but cannot accurately confirm the figures reported by enterprises.
Concluding the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha emphasized the importance of piloting the allocation of greenhouse gas emission quotas as an important stepping stone to perfect the management mechanism before applying it mandatory nationwide.
The Deputy Prime Minister requested that during the pilot process, it is necessary to specifically calculate the quotas for each sector (cement, steel, electricity, etc.), clearly defining the scale of enterprises included in the pilot, to learn from experience and prepare for the implementation of over 100% of future emissions.
The pilot does not stop at the number of quotas but is a synchronous completion process from the measurement, counting, statistics, reporting, appraisal methods to legal and technical issues.
These methods must be based on solid scientific basis, in accordance with international standards to ensure data is internationally recognized.
Regarding authority, the Deputy Prime Minister agreed on the plan to authorize the Minister of Agriculture and Environment to decide on the determination of the total quota for the piloted fields; responsible for coordinating with relevant ministries, branches, and associations to allocate specific quota to each field and select enterprises participating in the pilot.
The Deputy Prime Minister requested that the allocation must be scientific, objective, transparent and fair. The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment plays the role of "arbitration" on methods and methods of determining and inspecting the implementation of quota allocation.
Enterprises participating in the pilot must calculate themselves, hire experts to evaluate and have independent units to measure and certify reporting data.
Regarding the implementation roadmap, the Deputy Prime Minister directed that from now until 2027, the pilot program will focus on synchronously perfecting mechanisms and policies.
From 2028, emission limit management will be officially and mandatory nationwide for all sectors and enterprises.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment must publicly announce this roadmap right now so that businesses know and proactively prepare, avoiding passiveness when officially applying; review and supplement legal regulations on the rights, responsibilities and obligations of relevant parties (state management agencies, measurement units, certificates, enterprises).
In particular, it is necessary to add sanctions for violations and data fraud, as well as economic tools to encourage emission reduction, "only when a market for credit exchange and quotas is formed and there is a clear buying and selling mechanism, will businesses have real motivation to participate".
