Deputy Director of the Vietnam Maritime Administration, Hoang Hong Giang, made the above statement at a seminar on “Green Ports for Sustainable Development, Reaching Out to the Big Sea” hosted by the Vietnam Maritime Administration and the Giao Thong Newspaper in Ho Chi Minh City on December 4th.
GREEN PORTS ARE A GLOBAL TREND
According to the Master Plan for the Development of Vietnam’s Seaport System for the period 2021-2030, with a vision towards 2050, as per Decision No. 1579/QD-TTg, the country’s seaport system is divided into five groups comprising 34 ports.
Statistics from the Vietnam Maritime Administration reveal a thriving industry, with double-digit growth rates in cargo handled at Vietnamese seaports annually. This impressive growth has attracted significant investment in port infrastructure and maritime services, positioning Vietnam as a potential transshipment hub. To sustain this growth, Vietnam must embrace a green, clean, and sustainable development path.
The leadership of the Vietnam Maritime Administration shared that major ports have gradually embraced the green transition. However, developing the necessary decrees and legal framework will take time. Therefore, the government should expedite this process to boost business confidence in implementing the changes. Once clear green criteria and evaluation entities are established, they can be used to set pricing frameworks and generate revenue for green ports.
Vietnam has committed to achieving all 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Additionally, at COP26, the nation pledged to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The government has also launched numerous initiatives, action plans, criteria, and roadmaps for various entities and businesses, including greenhouse gas inventories, the development of a carbon credit market, and a commitment to refrain from building new coal-fired power plants.
The Prime Minister has issued Decision No. 888/QD-TTg, dated July 22, 2022, approving a scheme on tasks and solutions to implement the outcomes of the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference. The maritime industry is among the sectors taking decisive action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Based on the approval of the Ministry of Transport, since June 2021, the Vietnam Maritime Administration has issued Decision No. 710/QD-CHHVN on the plan to implement the Green Port Development Project in Vietnam. This decision outlines six groups of criteria for assessing the level of greenness in ports, along with a timeline for implementation, starting with voluntary participation and moving towards mandatory compliance after 2030.
Many port businesses have proactively adopted green port criteria, including Tan Cang Cat Lai, Tan Cang Cai Mep- Thi Vai, Gemadept Dung Quat, Danang Port, TC-HICT (Tan Cang Hai Phong International Container Terminal), and Nam Dinh Vu Port, to name a few.
Major and newly invested ports have been equipped with modern cargo handling equipment and automated systems, utilizing electricity to reduce labor costs, increase productivity, improve work efficiency, and minimize greenhouse gas emissions. Several ports have already embarked on their journey towards becoming green ports.
CHALLENGES AHEAD
Sharing the green transition progress, Vu Anh Tuan, Deputy Head of the Green Port Steering Committee of Tan Cang Saigon, explained that their approach to greening has been very “practical” and is divided into two phases.
In the first phase, starting in 2009, all activities were driven by practical needs and interests to save costs. They switched from using diesel to 100% electricity, resulting in an annual cost reduction from VND 200 billion to VND 66 billion.
In the second phase, the company transitioned to using solar energy and other renewable energy sources, which presented a significant challenge. “We traveled abroad to learn about clean energy technologies, but the costs were prohibitive, twice or three times the usual cost,” Mr. Tuan explained. As an example, he mentioned that for a VND 6 billion vehicle, VND 2.8 billion was spent on batteries alone. To reduce costs, he suggested large-scale battery production and encouraged more businesses to pioneer in this field, addressing a significant barrier.
Addressing global solutions for reducing COâ‚‚ emissions in the maritime industry, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Ky, Director of Cai Mep International Terminal (CMIT), introduced the “The Climate Pledge” program, co-founded by Amazon. This initiative brings together leading companies from various industries worldwide, aiming to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, a full decade ahead of the Paris Agreement’s target.
According to Mr. Ky, the program’s goal is to reach net-zero carbon emissions ten years earlier than the Paris Agreement’s deadline. The global impact of this collective effort is estimated to prevent more than 2.5 billion tons of COâ‚‚ emissions annually, equivalent to approximately one-third of the carbon absorbed by all the world’s forests each year.
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