Vehicles travel on a section of the National Highway No 1A. The German Government and the Ministry of Transport have launched a project that aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the transport sector.  — VNS Photo Công Thành

ĐÀ NẴNG — The German Government and the Ministry of Transport have launched a project that aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the transport sector.

The project will contribute to the implementation of Việt Nam’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement on climate change.  

“Last September 2020, Việt Nam was one of the first 20 countries to submit its updated NDC to the UNFCCC Secretariat. Compared to the first NDC submitted in 2015, the mitigation contribution of the updated NDC has increased in terms of both volume and percentage,” vice minister Lê Anh Tuấn said at the project meeting on March 15.

“Việt Nam has committed to reduce its total GHG emissions by nine per cent compared to the business-as-usual (BAU) scenario and by up to 27 per cent with international support received through bilateral and multilateral cooperation, as well as through the implementation of new mechanisms under the Paris Agreement,” Tuấn said.

The NDC-TIA project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) through the International Climate Initiative (IKI), and jointly implemented by GIZ in collaboration with the MoT’s Department of the Environment, the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), and the World Resources Institute (WRI). The goal of the project is to contribute to Việt Nam’s NDC by supporting the design of a legal framework on low-carbon transport, enhancing stakeholders’ capacity, and reducing GHG emissions.

The project will provide technical support to the Ministry of Transport to build mechanisms, policies and a roadmap on e-mobility development at national and city levels, promoting the introduction and sustainable development of advanced, modern and zero-emissions electric vehicles in Việt Nam

It also helps build GHG emissions mitigation scenarios for the transport sector to 2050 in the direction of low-carbon development and integration into Việt Nam's NDC, and develop regulations on energy efficiency for road motor vehicles.

The project aims to promote an online system for the measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) of GHG emissions and mitigation measures for transport sub-sectors including road, rail, inland waterways, maritime, and aviation to enhance transparency regarding GHG emissions in the transport sector.

Rapid economic growth, urbanisation, and motorisation have resulted in higher traffic volumes in Việt Nam as well as in countries throughout Asia.

Planes at the Đà Nẵng International Airport. The transport sector has been building measures on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction. VNS Photo Công Thành

“With its 2020 NDC, Việt Nam has shown its intention to mitigate climate change. I wish the NDC-TIA project great success as it works to strengthen the policy framework for low-carbon development and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in transport, which together will make a significant contribution to Viet Nam’s ambitious NDC,” said First Secretary and Deputy Head of Development Cooperation at the German Embassy in Hà Nội, Helene Paust.

The meeting was attended by more than 80 representatives from the Ministry of Transport, other relevant ministries, departments, directorates, and authorities, and representatives of departments of transport from major cities and provinces. The meeting also had the honour of welcoming virtual presentations from the ICCT and the WRI.

During the meeting, participants exchanged experiences on the development of a roadmap for electric mobility, fuel economy, and the development of low-carbon transport. These exchanges will prove invaluable for the effective implementation of the project.

Funding for the project, which is expected to run until the end of December 2023, is being provided by the German Federal Government through EUR 4,000,000 in non-refundable ODA managed and disbursed through GIZ, with an in-kind contribution of EUR 400,000 from Viet Nam through human resources and facilities provided by the Ministry of Transport.

Last month, the German Development Co-operation-GIZ Việt Nam and the Ministry of Construction’s Housing and Real Estate Market Management Bureau (HREM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for co-operation on the joint development of the Việt Nam Green Housing Programme (VGHP) under the implementation of the Programme for Energy Efficiency in Buildings (PEEB) in Việt Nam.  VNS