Enhancing resource mobilization for environmental protection

On the afternoon of July 31, a workshop titled "Consultation on the Draft Law Amending and Supplementing several Articles of the Law on Environmental Protection" was held at the National Assembly House, bringing together representatives from government agencies, experts, industry associations, and the business community.

In his keynote remarks, National Assembly Vice Chairman Nguyen Hong Dien stressed the need to improve mechanisms and policies to effectively mobilize and utilize resources from citizens and businesses for environmental protection. He also underscored the importance of creating stronger incentives for green investment, technological innovation, efficient resource use, and the development of a circular economy.

Pursuing economic growth without compromising the environment

In her opening remarks, Nguyen Thanh Hai, Chairwoman of the National Assembly's Committee for Science, Technology and Environment, said that the 2020 Law on Environmental Protection, which took effect on January 1, 2022, marked a significant shift in Viet Nam's environmental governance. The law moved away from a reactive approach toward proactive pollution control while promoting the transition to a circular economy.

However, after five years of implementation, both domestic and international contexts have changed considerably. The Resolution of the 14th National Party Congress, together with the outcomes of the recent third Plenum of the Party Central Committee, has clearly defined Viet Nam's development model as building a strong maritime nation and pursuing double-digit economic growth, while placing environmental protection at the center of development. Economic growth, she stressed, must not come at the expense of the environment.

According to Nguyen Thanh Hai, economic development must go hand in hand with environmental protection, climate change adaptation, and the country's commitment to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

She also noted that the third Plenum of the 14th Party Central Committee had agreed to issue Conclusion No. 75-KL/TW, dated July 28, 2026, on environmental protection and proactive climate change response in the new era.

At the same time, practical implementation of the Law on Environmental Protection has revealed a number of legal bottlenecks. The drafting committee has therefore proposed four new policy groups, aiming to shift from pre-inspection to post-inspection, and from a control-and-command approach to one that facilitates sustainable development.

Nguyen Thanh Hai called on participants to focus their comments on reforming administrative procedures, strengthening decentralization and delegation of authority, improving air quality management in urban areas, adopting a circular economy approach to waste management, and refining economic instruments for environmental protection.

Draft amendments to revise 78 articles of the Law on Environmental Protection

Minister of Agriculture and Environment Trinh Viet Hung said the draft law proposes amendments and supplements to 78 of the 171 articles in the current Law on Environmental Protection, while introducing two new articles - Article 72a and Article 139a.

The draft law has been designed to strengthen decentralization and the delegation of authority, simplify administrative procedures, reduce business requirements, and significantly cut the administrative workload arising during implementation.

According to Minister Trinh Viet Hung, implementation of the amended law, once adopted, will not require the establishment of new agencies or the recruitment of additional staff. The existing environmental management system, from the central to the local level, together with the current corps of public officials and civil servants, is considered capable of effectively enforcing the law.

Clear standards needed for the circular and green economy

At the workshop, experts and business representatives contributed comments on several key provisions of the draft law.

Associate Professor Dr. Luu Duc Hai, Vice Chairman of the Viet Nam Association of Environmental Economics, noted that although policies promoting eco-industrial parks, the circular economy, and the green economy have been in place for years, Vietnam has yet to certify a single eco-industrial park.

He observed that concepts such as the circular economy and the green economy remain largely promotional in nature. Viet Nam still lacks a clear set of standards to determine the extent to which a business meets circular or green economy criteria.

"In a market economy, these designations need to be clearly quantified and linked to specific incentive and support mechanisms," Hai said.

Regarding environmental permit regulations, Do Hoang Anh, External Affairs Director of Heineken Viet Nam Brewery Ltd., said the company regularly introduces technical improvements to enhance the efficiency of its waste treatment systems.

She noted that many of these changes involve only technological upgrades and do not increase wastewater discharge volumes, pollution loads, or environmental risks. Nevertheless, businesses are still required to amend or reapply for environmental permits.

Based on this experience, she proposed that the draft law clearly stipulate that operational improvements or technological upgrades aimed solely at optimizing performance or improving waste treatment efficiency, without changing the nature of environmental impacts, should only require an information update, rather than an amendment or reissuance of an environmental permit.

According to Do Hoang Anh, such a provision would help reduce compliance costs, encourage businesses to invest in technological innovation, promote cleaner production, and align with the Government's policy of shifting from pre-approval to post-inspection.

Carbon market should focus on genuine emission reductions

Commenting on the carbon market provisions, Dr. Tong Xuan Chinh, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the Viet Nam Dairy Association, said the draft law has introduced a relatively comprehensive legal framework for the domestic carbon market, including a national registry system, a carbon exchange, an emissions allowance reserve, and standards for generating carbon credits.

However, he stressed that the ultimate objective should not be the establishment of a carbon trading platform itself, but rather achieving real, measurable greenhouse gas emission reductions while preventing double counting.

He also recommended clearly distinguishing between emissions allowances, carbon credits, offset activities, and internationally transferred mitigation outcomes (ITMOs), as these are different types of assets with distinct origins and regulatory mechanisms.

National Assembly deputy Nguyen Quang Huan said the revised Law on Environmental Protection should create more favorable conditions for businesses and the public to respond to climate change, tackle air pollution, and carry out waste segregation at source.

He proposed granting greater authority to local governments in waste collection and sorting, while introducing support mechanisms to encourage businesses to participate in waste treatment and management activities.

In addition, delegates discussed a range of other issues, including managing waste as a valuable resource under a circular economy approach, strengthening oversight of facilities with high pollution risks, and expanding the application of information technology and artificial intelligence in environmental management.

Deputy Minister Le Cong Thanh reaffirmed the importance of revising the Law on Environmental Protection, stating that the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment will continue to study and further refine provisions related to waste segregation, wastewater management, the development of the carbon market, and the application of digital technologies in environmental governance.

Mobilizing social resources for the green transition

In his closing remarks, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Hong Dien urged the drafting committee to continue incorporating the Party's latest policy directions on environmental protection, particularly the spirit of the Resolution of the 14th National Party Congress and Conclusion No. 75-KL/TW.

He emphasized the need to further accelerate administrative reform and remove institutional bottlenecks by shifting from a regulatory approach to one that enables development; from pre-inspection to post-inspection; and from administration based primarily on procedures to environmental governance driven by science, technology, and data.

According to the Vice Chairman of the National Assembly, efforts to streamline administrative procedures must be substantive, helping reduce compliance costs for citizens and businesses without weakening state oversight or lowering environmental protection standards.

He also called for further refinement of mechanisms and policies to effectively mobilize and utilize resources from citizens and businesses for environmental protection. In particular, he urged the development of attractive incentive schemes to encourage investment in green technologies, technological innovation, efficient resource use, and the advancement of the circular economy.

In addition, he emphasized the need to promote active participation in the carbon credit market as a means of mobilizing both domestic and international resources to support the green transition and sustainable development.

Nguyen Hong Dien also urged continued decentralization and delegation of authority, accompanied by greater accountability for agency leaders, to ensure that environmental protection measures are implemented effectively and in line with local realities.

He also stressed the need to enhance the transparency and public disclosure of environmental information, strengthen public and community oversight, and review the consistency of the Law on Environmental Protection with related legislation, including the Law on Land, the Law on Investment, and the Law on Natural Resources and Environment of Seas and Islands, in order to avoid legal overlaps and inconsistencies.

According to Nguyen Hong Dien, alongside making effective use of international resources in technology, green finance, and modern governance experience, Viet Nam should introduce policies that support citizens and businesses in meeting the green standards required by export markets. Such measures would help improve the competitiveness of Vietnamese products while enabling the country to fulfill its international environmental commitments more effectively.

He expressed confidence that, through close coordination among the drafting committee, the reviewing agency, and relevant stakeholders, the draft Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the 2020 Law on Environmental Protection would be finalized to a high standard, meeting the country's development needs in the new era.