GHG Emissions in Vietnam
The Total Amount and Level of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Vietnam
Vietnam signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992 and ratified this Convention in 1994. Vietnam also signed the Kyoto Protocol (KP) in 1998 and officially approved it in 2002. Under the Kyoto Protocol, Vietnam is not in the group of countries that have a responsibility to reduce greenhouse gases.
Regarding actual GHG emissions, Vietnam is a country with low GHG emissions in the world. The emissions in 2000 were only about 150 million tons, out of 34,000 million tons of CO2 equivalent emissions worldwide (that is equivalent to approximately 0.44 %). However, it should be recognized that the emission rate per capita in Vietnam, although lower than those in China, Korea and Thailand, is growing faster than the rates in those nations. Specifically, emissions have increased by nearly 6 times, from 0.3 tons CO2/person in 1990 to 1.71 tons CO2/ person in 2010, while China's emissions increased by 3 times, Korea's increased by
2.5 times and Thailand's increased by 2 times (Figs. 5.1 and 5.2).
Fig. 5.1 GHG emissions per capita during the period of 1990–2010 (Source: Compiled from UN data at data.un.org/Data. aspx?d¼MDG& f¼seriesRowID:751)
Fig. 5.2 The growing rate of GHG emissions per capita in Vietnam compared with some other countries (Source: data.un.org/Data.aspx?d¼MDG&f¼seriesRowID:751)
In the recent period (2001–2011), before the trend of economic development with a relatively high rate (average growth of 6–8 %), the increase in population led to the amount of Vietnam's greenhouse gases increasing. As expected, due to the economic development needs in the coming years, the amount of GHG emissions in Vietnam may be increased if there is not timely implementation of measures to reduce GHG emissions caused by economic development activities.
Vietnam conducted national GHG inventories for the years 1994, 2000 and 2005. This was to meet the country's commitments under the UNFCCC, also aiming to develop a database to support the formulation of policies related to climate change and greenhouse gases. The inventories therefore covered most sectors' GHG emissions in Vietnam.
All inventories were calculated using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)'s 1996 guidelines for non-Annex I nations (Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories). The inventories for 2000 and
Table 5.1 GHG inventories in Vietnam
Source: Compiled from Vietnam Second Communication Report, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (2010), and Interim Report of Inventory Capacity Building Project. JICA (2014) aSecond Communication Report, MONRE 2010
bSecond Communication Report, MONRE 2010
cInterim Report of Inventory Capacity Building Project. JICA (as of 6/2014)
2005 were combined with the Good Practice Guidance versions from the IPCC for 2000 and 2003 in a number of areas.
The GHG inventory was conducted in economic sectors that have high emissions, including energy, industrial processes, agriculture, and land use–land use change–forestry (LULUCF), and waste sectors. GHG inventories cover three major categories including CO2, CH4 and N2O.
