Strategy for Viet Nam to achieve Net Zero by 2050

During his presentation at the training program, "Enhancing Media Capacity and Carbon Neutrality," on the afternoon of October 15, Hoang Anh Dung, General Director of Intraco Company, provided a detailed explanation of the key definitions related to carbon emissions and presented the strategies for Viet Nam to reach Net Zero by 2050.

Clarifying carbon neutrality and Net Zero

According to Hoang Anh Dung, Carbon Neutrality is defined as the balance between releasing carbon and absorbing that amount of carbon emissions. To achieve this standard, companies can either reduce their carbon emissions to zero or reduce them as much as possible and balance the remainder through offsetting by purchasing carbon credits. Meanwhile, Net Zero is the state of achieving an overall balance between the total amount of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions released and the amount of GHG removed from the atmosphere. There is also the definition of Negative Carbon Emissions, which is a state that brings the emission level below the carbon neutrality mark.

A significant distinction is that the carbon credits used for compensation in Carbon Neutrality include Reduction credits, Avoidance credits, and Removal credits. In contrast, for Net Zero status, the carbon credits used for compensation can only be Removal credits.

The eight-point strategy for Net Zero

To achieve Net Zero emissions by 2050, Hoang Anh Dung suggests Viet Nam needs to pursue the following eight strategic steps. Firstly, the country must increase renewable energy sources to over 90% of the total energy mix. Secondly, it must increase the area of planted forests by an additional 1.71 million hectares annually. The third strategy involves eliminating or maximally reducing the use of HFCs, PFCs, SF6, and N2O in industrial processes. Simultaneously, Viet Nam must organize the recovery of over 90% of methane CH4 from landfills and livestock waste. In agriculture, the next crucial strategy is to utilize the Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) cultivation method on 90% of the rice growing area, in addition to implementing solutions to utilize over 90% of agricultural byproducts for energy generation and soil improvement purposes. The seventh strategy is to push forward projects for the removal of CO2 from the atmosphere (e.g., Carbon Capture and Storage, Carbon Removal). Finally, the country must heavily promote the use of green hydrogen and biofuels for over 90% of burners and transport vehicles.

The General Director of Intraco Company emphasized that reaching Net Zero requires businesses to undertake actual emission reductions across their entire value chain, including technological transformation, significant investment, changes in operating models, and investment in carbon removal projects. "This is a long-term process that demands substantial financial, technical, and governance resources," Hoang Anh Dung stressed.

In practice, many global enterprises begin with Carbon Neutrality by first measuring their emissions, then offsetting them through carbon credits, and subsequently investing in emission reduction projects. Dung argues that Carbon Neutrality builds the necessary data foundation and capacity for emissions management, effectively preparing companies for the later transition to the Net Zero phase.

In Viet Nam, TH Group is one of the few domestic enterprises certified as Carbon Neutral according to the international standard PAS 2060:2014 for its TH true MILK fresh milk and TH true WATER purified water products. Intraco served as the consulting unit for the TH Group's program toward Net Zero. In TH Group’s case, the scope included direct emissions and indirect emissions from energy, with the total emissions balanced through internal reductions, technological improvements, and the use of clean energy. The TH Group has currently committed to maintaining carbon neutral status at two member units until 2028 under the PAS 2060 standard, after which they will aim for the ISO 14068 standard, aligning with the Vietnamese Government’s long-term goal of achieving Net Zero by 2050.

On October 15–16, the Vietnam Agriculture and Nature News collaborated with TH Group to organize a training class on "Enhancing Media Capacity and Carbon Neutrality" in Nghe An.

The opening session of the training program was attended by: Nguyen Nhu Khoi, Deputy Chairman of the Nghe An Provincial People's Council; Nguyen Tuan Quang, Deputy Director General of the Department of Climate Change; Nguyen Danh Hung, Deputy Director of the Nghe An Department of Agriculture and Environment; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mai Van Trinh, Director of the Institute of Agricultural Environment; Phan Van Thang, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Nghe An Newspaper and Radio and Television Station; representatives from TH Group; along with other delegates, speakers, and 40 journalists, reporters, and editors from central and local press agencies.