Vietnam needs to develop renewable energy

Vietnam needs to develop electricity from solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and biological energy, instead of using coal power as at present, Chairman of the Central Economic Commission Nguyen Van Binh informed a workshop in Hanoi on January 11.

Chairman of the Party Central Committee's Commission for Economic Affairs Nguyen Van Binh
Chairman of the Party Central Committee's Commission for Economic Affairs Nguyen Van Binh

The workshop on green energy for sustainable economic development was co-organised by the Central Economic Commission, the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Japanese and Australian embassies in Vietnam. It was part of the second Vietnam Economic Forum.

Addressing the event, John Kerry, honorary president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said that climate change is happening all over the world and one of the solutions to the problem is using energy in a smart way.

He advised that Vietnam should invest in the use of electricity generated by solar, wind, gas and thermal energy. It also needs open policies and the development of a roadmap for solar energy in its general approach, he added.

Vietnam has the chance to make more effective changes, save billions of US dollars, give people a better quality of life, and create many jobs in this sector, Kerry said.

At the workshop, foreign experts shared their experience in attracting foreign investment in the energy industry, as well as financial and credit mechanisms to help the country to develop its energy infrastructure and access the latest achievements of the global energy sector.

They also identified the challenges posed by climate change to the power sector in Vietnam and proposed a number of solutions.