On July 9, Vietnam Economic Times organized the Green Industry Forum 2025 with the theme "harmonizing high growth and sustainable development goals".
Speaking at the forum, Dr. Chu Van Lam - Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam Economic Science Association - said that according to the ranking of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the global competitiveness of Vietnam's industry has increased by 16 places over the past 10 years, from 58th in 2009 to 42nd in 2019, becoming the country with the fastest increase among countries in the ASEAN region; has approached 5th place in the region (after the Philippines) and moved closer to the group of 4 countries with the strongest competitiveness in the ASEAN bloc.
However, in the development process, industrial production activities also leave negative impacts on the environment - society and human health. The industrial sector, especially the processing and manufacturing sector, still heavily depends on the FDI enterprise sector (accounting for 70%) of export value; low domestic added value (about 30%) due to weak supporting industries and dependence on imported raw materials. Traditional industries such as mining, smelting, and cement cause serious pollution, with fossil energy accounting for 75% of total energy consumption, increasing the risk from climate change.
In the problem of high growth and sustainable development, the solution is not in the trade-off, but in the way we look back to design the most harmonious industrial strategy, both ensuring high growth requirements, meeting the requirements of the international market and in line with the practical capabilities of Vietnam.
Studies show that green industrial parks can help increase labor productivity by 15-25% thanks to the application of high technology, improving the working environment and attracting quality human resources. At the same time, this is a prerequisite for Vietnamese enterprises to continue participating in the global value chain, especially when multinational corporations all set ESG and Net Zero as mandatory criteria when choosing partners.
Speaking at this forum, Dr. Bui Thanh Minh - Deputy Director of the Office of the Private Economic Development Research Board (Board IV) - said that Vietnam needs up to 360 billion USD to move towards Net Zero.
Without high-tech innovation, Vietnam has no way to develop into a high-income economy. Therefore, businesses must switch to this direction" - Dr. Bui Thanh Minh emphasized.
Dr. Bui Thanh Minh said that regarding the goals and commitments set by Vietnam, increasing solar power capacity to 73 GW by 2030 (5 times higher than the previous target); wind power increased from 21 GW to 38 GW; prioritizing the modernization of the power grid, implementing 18 activeness hydropower projects. Regarding transportation, Vietnam focuses on implementing an action plan to reduce carbon, focusing on electric vehicles and public transport. On agriculture, it is committed to reducing methane gas by 30% by 2030 compared to 2020 (according to COP26)...
According to information from the Vietnam Economic Science Association, after more than three decades of industrialization, Vietnam has achieved impressive achievements in economic growth with the industry contributing about 35% of GDP and becoming the main driving force for job creation. However, this rapid development also poses serious challenges to the environment and resource use.
In the context of the global supply chain shifting towards green - clean - circular, Vietnam faces the mandatory need to reshape its industrial development strategy. If it does not adapt in time, the country is at risk of being left behind in the global sustainable development race.
Notably, while sectors such as energy and green transportation have begun to receive strong investment, green industry - a pillar of national production - has not yet been properly placed in the national strategy on green growth and the Net Zero commitment to 2050.
In the context of many fluctuations in the world economy, the trend of green - sustainable transformation is also having unpredictable changes. In addition to the green growth target towards Net zero by 2050, Vietnam has also set a double-digit growth target for 2025 and the following years.
To not miss the opportunity, Vietnam needs to strongly restructure the industry in a sustainable direction. Investing in green industry is not only a choice, but a mandatory requirement if Vietnam wants to maintain rapid growth and maintain its position in the Net Zero era.
