Identifying Technical Solutions—Technology Priorities in Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions
After defining the field of emissions and identifying technical solutions, specific technologies to reduce emissions from different sectors also have very important implications for the GHG emission reduction strategy of the country. Usually, technical solutions and technologies are applied to the sector, and sub-sector emission reduction priorities are classified according to their applicability in the short term and long term, or on a large or small scale. The classification results allow comparison with other solutions and building system solutions applied over time. Accordingly, the solution can be applied to many sectors/sub-sectors, though not with the highest priority in all sectors/sub-sectors identified.
Lessons for Vietnam
The identification of priority areas to reduce emissions requires specific research, based on national conditions and the development goals. Accordingly, there is a need to develop criteria to identify areas in which to consider the full range of aspects of the potential to reduce emissions, the ability to deploy, the cost and other economic, social and environmental effects.
For reduction of GHG emissions from the energy sector and the promotion and development of new energy sources, renewable energy often requires great support financially from the government to businesses, including investment costs, installation costs, operating costs and R&D activities. Therefore, for developing countries like Vietnam, the budget must also cater for multiple items for other urgent development, and focusing on investment in the development of renewable energy sources will encounter many difficulties, so there is a need for a strategy and roadmap for this. As an agricultural country, Vietnam has the potential for development of bioenergy from agricultural by-products to partially replace fossil fuels to reduce GHG emissions without too much investment cost.
With the economy still relying heavily on agriculture in the next decade, not only for rice but also for other industrial crops (coffee, tobacco, rubber, pepper, and cashews), Vietnam needs to focus on building sustainable agriculture and application of advanced agricultural technologies to maintain and develop the quality and quantity of agricultural production in the context of climate change. For application of this new technology, besides support from the Government of Vietnam, support from developed countries should be enlisted in parallel with relief efforts. This will ensure appropriate orientation and mitigation of GHG emissions associated with climate change adaptation under the most favorable orientation for Vietnam.
In the forestry sector, the strengthening of forestry on vacant land in the tropics is known as an effective measure to reduce CO2, the main GHG in the atmosphere. In addition to reforestation efforts and reforestation on barren hills, recently the international community has also shown interest in sustainable management of the available forest resources. REDD+ initiatives have been proposed and have received the attention of many nations. This initiative stems from the fact that deforestation and forest degradation contribute a large proportion (15–20 %) of the total amount of GHG emissions due to human activities, and the cause is global in scope.
The formulation and implementation of policies to reduce GHG emissions need to be considered in a comprehensive manner, which requires close coordination between ministries and departments.
The GHG emission reduction strategies should be implemented in a flexible manner, combining policy commands with incentives and economic and technical support to encourage the cooperation of the relevant parties.
Efforts should be made to encourage participation and promote the role of stakeholders in the GHG emission reduction activities. The involvement of the community and stakeholders not only helps to ensure cooperation with and support of government policies but also can help to sustain the motivation of the Government in working toward GHG emission reduction targets.
Leverage, promoting investment, is an important factor in GHG mitigation and response to climate change, especially in developing countries with limited funds. The collaboration and support between Norway and Brazil in the successful campaign to reduce emissions from deforestation in Brazil have demonstrated the role and importance of external sources of support for activities to reduce emissions.
Application of techniques and technology is one of the essential elements to ensure effective policies and activities to reduce emissions, and in return, such mechanisms and policies are promoting the implementation and application of technical solutions and technologies to reduce GHG emission practices.
References
Decision 1393/QÐ-TTg dated 25/09/2012. “Chieˆ´n lược Ta˘ng trưởng xanh quoˆ´c gia” (2012, in Vietnamese). Available at: vanban.chinhphu.vn/portal/page/portal/chinhphu/ hethongvanban?_page¼1&class_id¼2&document_id¼163886&mode¼detail
General Statistic Office (2014) Yearly Statistics Publication
JICA Inventory Capacity Building Project (2014) Interim report, June 2014. Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Vietnam
Low-Emission Development Strategies (LEDS), Technical, Institutional and Policy Lessons.
Clapp et al. OECD (2010); Available at oecd-ilibrary.org/environment/low-emis sion-development-strategies-leds_5k451mzrnt37-en?crawler¼true
Ministry of Industry and Trade (2013) Situation and development direction of environmental technology of Vietnam up to 2020, vision 2030. In: Conference of environmental technology development, 2013, Ministry of Trade and Industry of Vietnam (in Vietnamese)
The Second Communication Report, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), 2010
UN Data. data.un.org/Data.aspx?d¼MDG&f¼seriesRowID:751
