Provinces to complete legal framework for carbon credit market

Viet Nam plans to sell 5.15 million tons of CO₂ equivalent from forests in the Central Highlands and South Central Coast between 2022 and 2026, with a minimum price of USD 10 per ton. With nearly 1.1 million hectares planned for forestry, Quang Ngai is regarded as a province with high potential for implementing and expanding carbon credit projects.

Despite having ample potential, businesses in Quang Ngai still struggle to operate within and participate in the carbon credit market. They require support to access green credit sources for low-emission production and consumption sectors, along with policies that encourage the adoption of clean and carbon-reducing technologies.

Currently, Government Decree 119/2025/ND-CP dated June 9, 2025, which amends Decree 6/2022/ND-CP on greenhouse-gas mitigation and ozone-layer protection, is considered the legal foundation for operating and developing the domestic carbon credit market.

To effectively leverage this market, businesses in Quang Ngai propose that regulators continue improving the legal framework, clarify operational rules for the trading platform, and define mechanisms for transparent use of revenue from carbon credit transactions. The province also needs policies to help enterprises access green finance, innovate technology, and reduce emissions.

According to Ho Trong Phuong, Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment, as the green economy becomes a dominant trend, developing a carbon credit market is essential. With diverse ecosystems stretching from forests to seas, Quang Ngai has favorable conditions to implement greenhouse gas reduction projects.

From his point of view, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment must quickly issue detailed guidelines to help the province build data systems and information infrastructure for the carbon credit market, ensuring efficient and compliant transactions. The establishment and trading of carbon credits not only encourage emission-reduction activities but also create a sustainable revenue source for reinvestment in climate adaptation programs.

Carbon credits are a type of tradable certificate representing the right of a business to emit one ton of CO₂ or an equivalent amount of other greenhouse gases. Forest-based carbon credits are generated from reduced CO₂ emissions through activities such as preventing deforestation, reducing forest degradation, sustainable forest management, forest conservation, and increasing carbon storage. Forest owners can convert the forest areas they manage and protect into the amount of CO₂ absorbed or into carbon credits and sell them.

The carbon market includes activities of exchanging greenhouse gas emission quotas and carbon credits arising from the carbon credit exchange and offset mechanism in accordance with the provisions of international treaties. To achieve the common goal of achieving net-zero emisions by 2050, Viet Nam is promoting the construction of a carbon credit trading market and is expected to officially operate a carbon credit trading floor by 2028. Although the country is assessed to have a lot of room for developing this market, the level of exploitation is still in its infancy. Therefore, perfecting the mechanism and policies to form a complete carbon credit market is a requirement.