Representatives of WWF-Vietnam and partners agree on a five-year project to transform Vietnam's private sector toward sustainable energy use. (Photo courtesy of WWF-Vietnam)Theproject 'An energy transition for a 1.5 degree world: Accelerating Progress inAsia,' will harness corporate, sectorial and subnational levels to helpaccelerate the adoption and scale-up of energy efficiency and renewable energysolutions in Tay Ninh.
The project, sponsored by HSBC, is implemented by WWF-Vietnam and World ResourceInstitute through the Clean Energy Investment Accelerator in cooperation with TayNinh's Department of Industry and Trade and Vietnam Chamber of Commerce andIndustry (VCCI).
The southern province has been a highlight for foreign investment with anannual growth rate of 7.2 percent, higher than other locations in the country.
Ithas 19 industrial parks and clusters, with textile and garment criticalindustries.
Datafrom the Vietnam textile & apparel industry directory in 2020 shows thatfrom 2016-20, the province attracted the highest number of foreign directinvestments (FDI) for the Vietnam Textile & Garment sector, with 48projects and FDI legal capital up to 1.272 billion USD.
Whilethe global textile and garment industry is setting increasingly ambitiousclimate change targets across global supply chains, this project will helpposition the local industry to be successful in meeting these requirements.
TayNinh has excellent potential for solar energy with an average of up to 2,400hours of sunshine per year, which attracts high interest in solar projectinvestment. According to the provincial People's Committee, nine solar farmsare operating.
Giventhe extensive benefits of clean energy and the strong will of provincialleaders, the province could become the leader in transforming its industrialsectors to a clean and green operation, especially in the energy sector.
Inthe next four years, the project will work mainly with Textile & Garmentcompanies in Tay Ninh to identify their existing problems and challenges inusing renewable energy; adopt energy efficiency solutions and develop bankableprojects with at least two big textile and garment companies or industrial parkapplying energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions.
Theproject will also support Tay Ninh DOIT in rolling out its plan to promoteenergy efficiency and renewable energy solutions to businesses.
Otherkey project activities include capacity building on energy efficiency andrenewable energy solutions, developing a roadmap for energy efficiency andrenewable energy solutions for subnational actors and building guidebooks andtools for commercial and industrial energy users to increase energy efficiencyin Tay Ninh province.
Theproject is a part of The Climate Solutions Partnership, a five-yearcollaboration that combines HSBC's financial expertise with the technicalknowledge and experience of the WRI and WWF and a network of local partners inscaling up climate innovation ventures and help transition the energy sector towardsrenewable in Asia.
Vietnamis one of the five target countries of the Climate Solutions Partnershipbesides China, India, Indonesia, and Bangladesh to accelerate progress towardenergy efficiency and renewables.
Publicenergy solutions
Thepartnership sets targets to accelerate the transition to net-zero by creatingmore opportunities for climate solutions to become commercially viable andprotecting and restoring biodiversity.
Itwill work with businesses, financial organisations, government bodies andresearch institutions, to remove the barriers to commercial financing forinnovative climate solutions.
TimEvans, CEO of HSBC Vietnam, said: "There is now a growing realisation thatwe are reaching the point of no return in terms of climate change. To achieve aglobal net-zero target, every organisation and every person has an importantpart to play. As a bank, the most significant impact we can make is helping ourclients transition to producing lower carbon emissions by providing a source offinance that facilitates the investment needed.
"Tosupport the Vietnamese Government's aspirational climate goals and itsambitious commitments to become a net-zero economy by 2050 following the COP26meetings, we have committed to helping arrange up to 12 billion USD of directand indirect sustainable financing for the corporate sector in Vietnam by 2030.
"Weare also trying to lead by example, and as a result we are setting ourselves atarget to make our own operations net-zero by 2030 or sooner. To accelerate theglobal transition to net zero, we also want to unlock climate solutions such asclean-tech innovation, sustainable infrastructure and nature-based solutions.This is why we have joined forces with WRI and WWF to form a philanthropic partnershipto help climate solutions become a commercial reality and have real-worldimpact."
Dr Van Ngoc Thinh, CEO of WWF-Vietnam, said: "Climate change is aglobal crisis that affects every single country. Ignoring it and not takingimmediate action will put us all at risk of an uncertain future. WWF-Vietnam iscontent to work with HSBC and WRI/CEIA to support Vietnam realising thecountry's NDCs and achieving Net Zero, which is only possible with aconsiderable reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, especially from the energysector via energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions."/.
VNA
