HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Vietnam has mademulti-dimensional efforts to achieve its net zero greenhouse gasemission targets by 2050 as committed at COP26, an official from theMinistry of Construction told a training workshop in Ho Chi Minh City earlier this week.

Speaking at Net Zero Buildings – International Experience andRecommendations for Vietnam, Nguyen Cong Thinh, Deputy Director of theministry’s Department of Science, Technology and Environment, said theGovernment has announced the National Action Plan on Green Growth for 2021-2030,National Climate Change Strategy to 2050 and others to fulfil its commitment.

The Minister of Construction has also approved the constructionsector’s action plan to help implement the COP26 commitments, he said.

“Currently there is no net zero carbon emission building in Vietnam.Green buildings numbered only 258 by the third quarter of the year, tinycompared to the number of buildings built annually.

“This means more efforts are needed to achieve the goal.”

Sam Wood, Deputy Consul General at the British Consulate Generalin HCM City, said buildings and the built environment account globally for onethird of total energy usage and 19% of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions.There has been a 45% increase in building related emissions since 1990 and onpresent trajectories this is set to worsen.

In big cities in Vietnam such as HCM City and Hanoi, buildings arealso a considerable source of carbon emissions and so it is very encouraging tosee a more sustainable approach in the plan, he said.

“Vietnam has a target of reducing a minimum of 563.8 milliontonnes of carbon emission by 2030, of which 13% is expected to come from theconstruction sector. Through our engagements with both the public and privatesectors, we know that there is increasing interest and appetite for sustainablebuilding framework. Recent events in green building/ sustainable urban planninghave drawn lots of attention.”

He also highlighted that to meet the country’s net zero pledge,more needs to be done, including building a comprehensive policy framework andensuring consistent enforcement, and incentivising strong commitments fromcorporate stakeholders.

“It is important to enhance knowledge of sector players in how toachieve green/ net zero buildings such as standards to follow, enablingtechnologies etc., which is the focus of this training workshop today.”

Phan Thu Hang, Chairwoman of the Vietnam Green Building Council,said to shift buildings and construction towards full decarbonisation, it isnecessary to approach “carbon emissions” from the perspective of the whole lifecycle of a building, which is the sum of initial and future costs associatedwith the construction and operation of a building over a period of time.

She called on the sector to focus on emission reductioninitiatives such as improving energy efficiency in operations includingefficient design and systems, increasing access to renewable energy, andreducing the impact of the construction process by increasing circularity ofmaterials and reducing embodied carbon in materials.

British experts presented ways to decarbonise the sector,including their country’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Framework and Net ZeroCarbon Buildings Standard.

The workshop was previously held in Hanoi on December 14, wherethe climate counsellor at the British embassy, Ronald Bohlander, said hiscountry is committed to supporting Vietnam’s green growth agenda.

Organised by the embassy, the Ministry of Construction and the VietnamGreen Building Council, the series of Net Zero Buildings Workshops aim topromote sustainable construction./.