At the launching ceremony (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam has launchedmore than 1 million voluntary carbon credits from household biogas plants tothe international market as part of the Biogas Programme for the AnimalHusbandry Sector in 2016-2020.
The number of credits represents the equalreduction of 1 million tonnes of CO2.
Speaking at the launching ceremony in Hanoi onJune 26, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Van Tam saidthe project has the largest number of voluntary carbon credits in the world toreduce greenhouse gas emissions in the biogas sector.
It is a special project that contributed over 50percent of the total expenses for implementation, he said.
Vietnam along with other nations joining theUnited Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change submitted the IntendedNationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) at the UN Climate ChangeConference, COP 21, in Paris in 2015.
The Southeast Asian country has committed tocutting greenhouse gas emissions by 8 percent in 2030 compared withconventional development scenarios, which could be reduced up to 25 percent ifreceiving international financial and technological support.
Looking towards sustainable agriculturalproduction, green growth, climate change adaptation and reduction of greenhousegas emissions is one of the prioritized missions of the Ministry of Agricultureand Rural Development, Tam said.
Tong Xuan Chinh, Deputy Director of theministry’s Department of Livestock, said the animal husbandry sectorcontributes 6 percent of the country’s gross domestic products (GDP) and thisis a great source to increase local incomes and reduce poverty.
The overall goal of the project is developing amarket-oriented biogas sector and reducing greenhouse gas emissions fromlivestock production through supporting the construction of biogas plants inhouseholds.
From 2013 to 2017, the country built over 170,000biogas facilities across 55 cities and provinces.
He described environmental protection as a keyissue in the sector’s sustainable development orientations.
The management of solid waste is challenging butit also presents an opportunity to create renewable energy and organicfertilizer, he said, adding that the treatment of solid waste through biogastechnology is considered the most effective solution.
Carbon credit is known as a permit that allows acountry or organization to produce a certain amount of carbon emissions thatcan be traded if the full allowance is not used.
The Biogas Programme for the Animal HusbandrySector has been carried out in Vietnam since 2003 thanks to the officialdevelopment assistance (ODA) of the Netherlands government.
In 2016, the project issued more than 1.2million carbon credits, raking in 2.5 million USD.
In April 2018, the Gold Standard certified thatthe project had over 2.36 million carbon credits issued. -VNA
VNA
