On June 6, in Ho Chi Minh City, the Department of Environment under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment held a consultation meeting on the draft emission regulations for cars, motorbikes, and motorbikes along with the application roadmap.
It is expected that emission testing for motorbikes will begin in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City from July 1, 2027.
Other provinces and centrally-run cities such as Hai Phong, Da Nang, Can Tho and Hue will conduct inspections from July 1, 2028.
Meanwhile, the remaining localities will apply this regulation from July 1, 2030.
According to Mr. Nguyen To An - Deputy Director of the Vietnam Road Administration, the draft emission standards has been basically finalized and is continuing to collect opinions for promulgation soon.
However, Mr. An emphasized that the key issue at present is determining a reasonable application roadmap because this is a factor that has a profound impact on society, especially for motorbikes and mopeds.
For cars, emission inspection has been implemented in advance, there are currently more than 300 inspection facilities nationwide to meet the demand. Adjusting the emission level appropriately will not cause great disruption" - Mr. An shared.
However, Mr. An also warned that the application roadmap needs to be carefully calculated to avoid the situation where many vehicles that do not meet the standards have to be "shelved".
When applying the Euro 4 emission standards, vehicles using diesel engines such as passenger cars and trucks will be greatly affected, forced to repair or upgrade to ensure standards.
According to Mr. Nguyen To An, Vietnam has over 70 million cars and motorbikes, of which over 64 million vehicles use internal combustion engines.
To meet the needs of emission inspection, our country needs about 5,000 inspection facilities nationwide. In particular, the motorbike group will be greatly affected because there is currently no facility specializing in inspection of emissions for motorbikes and mopeds, all of which are starting from zero.
Mr. An warned that without careful calculation and consideration, implementing emission standards for motorbikes will be very difficult to implement, and can even cause serious social disruption, directly affecting people, especially low-income people.
"We have only completed the national technical standards on emission levels and set a roadmap for application, but at the same time, there are social impacts that need to be considered. The development of relevant social support policies is the responsibility of other competent authorities" - Mr. An emphasized.
Associate Professor, Dr. Phung Chi Sy - Vice President of the Vietnam Association of nature and Environmental Protection - said that Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi being ahead is necessary, but it is necessary to calculate carefully to avoid uncomfortable situations.
Mr. Sy asked: "When Ho Chi Minh City implements emission inspection, how will vehicles from the province that have not applied this regulation be handled when entering the city? Should I park my vehicle outside the city and walk in or not?".
Not only the heavy-duty vehicles, Mr. Sy also emphasized the large number of vehicles with foreign license plates such as Cambodia, Laos, diplomatic vehicles, or Vietnamese vehicles purchased from abroad circulating in Vietnam.
These vehicles are also a source of emissions, so whether to inspect them or not? If not clearly regulated, it will cause confusion when implementing" - Mr. Sy said.
