Green chemistry project aims to reduce use of hazardous chemicals
The UNDP and the Vietnam Chemicals Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade has launched a project promoting the application of Green Chemistry in Vietnam to support green growth and reduce the use and release of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and hazardous chemicals.
Hanoi (VNA) - The United Nations DevelopmentProgramme (UNDP) and the Vietnam Chemicals Agency under the Ministry of Industryand Trade has launched a project promoting the application of Green Chemistryin Vietnam to support green growth and reduce the use and release of PersistentOrganic Pollutants (POPs) and hazardous chemicals. At the project’s inception workshop on April 6, Dao Xuan Lai, UNDP assistantcountry director and Head of Environment and Climate Change, enphasised that itwas the first green chemistry project to be implemented in Vietnam andSoutheast Asia with the target of minimising the use and emissions of chemicalsthat are not on the lists of multilateral environment agreements. He noted that the project has three objectives: creating a legalenvironment, raising awareness, and piloting practices that will help reduceemissions and the use of POPs. "Vietnam is one of the pioneers in POPs issues and has a lot ofexperience in dealing with POPs left over from the war to the present,” Laisaid, adding that that was the reason why the UNDP and GEF expect that Vietnamwill lay the foundations as well as give the first lessons and experiments inthis field. The project will be carried out for three years with the support of UNDP andthe Global Environment Fund (GEF). In Vietnam, while the chemical and manufacturing sectors play a veryimportant role in the development of the national economy and in theindustrialisation and modernisation of the country, certain chemicals which arepotentially hazardous or toxic, their production processes, and productscontaining such chemicals are causing increasing concern due to their impact onhuman health, the environment, and ecosystems. Therefore, the project hopes to create a favourable environment for theintroduction of Green Chemistry in Vietnam and its application in productionsectors with the purpose of reducing the use and release of chemicalscontrolled under the Stockholm and Minamata Conventions. The project will target six industries in Vietnam: chrome plating, pulp andpaper, plastics, textile, pesticides, and solvents. Specific guidance for each industry will be developed and the greenchemistry approach will be integrated into relevant legal documents.-VNA
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At the workshop (Photo: VNA) 
