At least 2% of the annual budget to be allocated to environmental protection

At national conference to disseminate the Resolution of the Third Plenum of the 14th Party Central Committee, Standing Deputy PM Pham Gia Tuc presented the topic "Conclusion on environmental protection and proactive response to climate change in the new era."

Improving living environments, with at least 80 percent of days rated good or moderate for air quality

Standing Deputy PM Pham Gia Tuc stated clearly that environmental protection and proactive response to climate change are particularly important tasks directly tied to people's lives and livelihoods and to sustainable development.

On guiding principles, he said environmental protection and climate response must be placed within an overall framework of new thinking and vision, serving as the foundation for green transformation, improving the quality of growth and competitiveness, and forming a new driver of economic development.

Environmental protection and climate response are the responsibility and duty of the entire political system, of organizations, businesses, communities, and every citizen, placing people and the quality of their lives at the center of every development decision.

Development planning must remain within ecological limits and the environment's carrying capacity, shifting from a reactive mindset to one that shapes development, and from administrative management to modern governance based on data and risk levels.

At the same time, the approach calls for proactive prevention, tight control, and early, distant warning of risks of pollution, degradation, and environmental incidents; concentrated efforts to resolve pressing environmental problems and hotspots; and the conservation of biodiversity and restoration of natural ecosystems.

Conclusion No. 75 sets out numerous quantitative targets for the next five years. Among them, the state budget will allocate a minimum of 2 percent of total annual expenditure to environmental protection, ensuring it maintains a leading role, while mobilizing social resources, international capital, global climate funds, and green finance. All major wastewater and emissions sources will be automatically monitored, and all industrial cluster wastewater treatment will meet regulatory standards.

Viet Nam is also targeting a shift in its growth model, with the green economy accounting for about 10 percent of GDP, the share of renewable energy in total primary energy supply reaching at least 26.1 percent, and greenhouse gas emissions reduced by at least 9 percent by 2030.

On environmental quality, at least 80 percent of days in the year in special-grade urban areas must have air quality rated good or moderate. The rate of solid household waste treatment is targeted to reach 95 percent in urban areas and 85 percent in rural areas.

By 2045, Viet Nam aims to build a clean living environment that develops in harmony with nature, forming a modern environmental governance system in which the green economy, circular economy, and low-carbon economy become the leading modes of development.

"These specific targets reflect a modern governance mindset and serve as a mandatory basis for ministries, sectors, and localities to build plans, allocate resources, and genuinely assess implementation effectiveness," the Standing Deputy PM emphasized.

Nine groups of key tasks for the new era

On solutions and tasks, the Standing Deputy PM said that to put these goals into concrete action, the Central Committee has identified nine groups of key tasks and solutions.

First, strengthening Party leadership and raising awareness and social responsibility, spreading a green lifestyle and sustainable consumption, and building self-conscious awareness and an environmental culture.

Second, perfecting institutions, tightening discipline, and improving enforcement effectiveness. This includes urgently completing the Law on Environmental Protection and related legislation to ensure consistency and uniformity, and studying improvements to legislation on responding to climate change and natural disasters.

It also involves stepping up decentralization and delegation of authority linked with inspection and oversight, combining pre-inspection with strengthened post-inspection, clearly defining the responsibilities of each level and agency, and using the achievement of environmental targets as an evaluation criterion.

Sanctions for violations must be strong enough to be a genuine deterrent, while guidance, dialogue, and support for businesses will be strengthened to help them avoid mistakes and comply properly with the law.

Third, mobilizing, allocating, and using resources effectively. The state budget will allocate a minimum of 2 percent of total annual expenditure to environmental protection, ensuring it maintains its leading role while effectively mobilizing social resources, international capital, global climate funds, and green finance. Mechanisms and policies for resource use will be improved to ensure flexibility.

Fourth, resolving pressing environmental issues and tightly controlling pollution sources. This includes concentrating on addressing air pollution in special-grade urban areas, and pollution in river basins, canals, ditches, lakes, craft villages, industrial clusters, mining areas, and sites where chemicals and pesticides have accumulated.

It also involves investing in infrastructure to promote the sorting, collection, transport, recycling, and treatment of waste, and sharply reducing the rate of direct landfilling of solid household waste. Major sources of wastewater and emissions must be automatically monitored, and no new areas of severe pollution will be allowed to emerge.

Fifth, conserving nature and biodiversity and using resources efficiently. This involves modernizing the management and exploitation of natural resources, using them efficiently and economically in conjunction with digital transformation, implementing nature-based solutions, and protecting and restoring important ecosystems.

Sixth, proactively adapting to climate change and reducing natural disaster risk. This includes updating climate change scenarios and adjusting strategies, planning, and prevention, response, and disaster-recovery plans to suit local conditions.

Seventh, promoting green transformation, the circular economy, and greenhouse gas emissions management. This involves transforming economic sectors toward green, circular, and low-carbon models, developing new economic sectors and recycling industries, and developing green transportation and green urban areas.

Eighth, developing science, technology, digital transformation, and human resources. Priority will be given to research, development, transfer, and application of monitoring, forecasting, and warning technologies, as well as clean technologies, recycling and waste treatment technologies, emissions reduction technologies, and carbon capture, storage, and reuse.

Ninth, promoting international cooperation and integration. This involves proactively participating in shaping regional and global initiatives, agreements, and cooperation mechanisms on the environment and climate, strengthening environmental and climate diplomacy, and enhancing cooperation to address cross-border environmental issues, manage water resources, prevent and respond to natural disasters, and ensure environmental and climate security.

On implementation, Standing Deputy PM Pham Gia Tuc also said that Conclusion No. 75-KL/TW has clearly assigned responsibilities to central agencies, ministries, sectors, and localities for carrying out these tasks.

In line with the Conclusion, the government is urgently developing an action program to institutionalize these policies, integrating environmental protection and climate change response requirements into socio-economic development strategies, plans, and programs, mobilizing and allocating resources, and monitoring and overseeing the progress and quality of implementation.

The Standing Deputy PM expressed confidence that under the Party's leadership, the resolute direction of the National Assembly and the government, and the close coordination of all levels, sectors, and localities together with the participation of the business community and the public, these important policies will quickly be put into practice, helping to unlock all resources and create a new stage of development for the country in the new era of national development.