Carbon Trading Platform: Vietnam to Launch Pilot in June 2025

11 March, 2025

(Illustrative image. Source: Vietnam+)

According to a representative from the Department of Climate Change (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment), the roadmap includes plans to pilot a carbon trading platform starting in June 2025.

In preparation for this pilot, the Department is developing a national registry system for quotas and credits, collaborating with the Ministry of Finance to establish a decree on carbon trading, and calculating and allocating quotas for facilities that will be included in the market.

Currently, the technical details are being finalized.

At the meeting held on March 6, 2025, in Hanoi, to review the technical support for “Training and Simulating the Emission Trading System (ETS) in Vietnam,” Mr. Nguyen Tuan Quang, Deputy Director of the Department of Climate Change, shared that this technical support is one of the initiatives backed by the Energy Transition Partnership for Southeast Asia (ETP) for the Department of Climate Change. This program has been operational since 2023.

The technical support for “Training and Simulating the ETS in Vietnam” aims to foster the development of a carbon market by aiding in the establishment of a domestic carbon market and a trading platform. This contributes to Vietnam’s commitments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions as outlined in the Paris Agreement.

Mr. Quang emphasized the significance of the technical support provided by ETP and UNOPS, as well as the research conducted by experts. He stated, “Thanks to their support and the research outcomes, we now have a preliminary diagram of the registry system for quotas and credits, along with outlined operations for the carbon trading platform. I believe that this technical support has been immensely beneficial.”

Mr. John Robert Cotton, Deputy Director of the Energy Transition Partnership for Southeast Asia (ETP), acknowledged Vietnam’s concrete steps toward establishing a domestic carbon market, with ETS as a key component. However, he cautioned that transitioning to a functional ETS necessitates significant capacity-building, institutional readiness, and engagement from various stakeholders.

The training program was designed to address these knowledge gaps and foster readiness among key stakeholders.

(Illustrative image. Source: PanNature)

Mr. Cotton stated, “Over the past year, we successfully conducted six training courses in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, engaging 657 participants from various sectors, including policymakers, industry leaders, financial organizations, and media outlets. These trainings significantly enhanced their understanding of ETS principles, carbon pricing mechanisms, emissions trading strategies, and compliance frameworks.”

Pre and post-training assessments revealed notable progress, with a substantial increase in the number of participants acknowledging the indispensability of ETS for achieving Vietnam’s climate goals and recognizing its cost-effectiveness as an emissions reduction tool.

According to surveys, over 80% of training participants found the courses highly useful and emphasized the value of these efforts in enhancing ETS readiness and stakeholder engagement. In addition to technical expertise, the ETS initiative fosters collaboration among diverse stakeholders, ensuring that Vietnam’s carbon market development is both inclusive and responsive to real-world challenges.

The active participation of industry leaders and policymakers in these discussions also contributes to refining policy recommendations and ensuring alignment with Vietnam’s broader climate strategy.

However, as Vietnam enters the ETS pilot phase from 2025 to 2027, Mr. Cotton noted that continuous training remains crucial. While the program has trained approximately 300 large emitting facilities, the Vietnamese government has identified over 2,600 facilities that will need to inventory greenhouse gas emissions and potentially join ETS. Therefore, expanding capacity-building efforts is necessary to ensure that all stakeholders are well-prepared for ETS compliance and market participation.

Hung Vo

– 18:51 06/03/2025