State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc has called on APEC economies to invest in clean energy projects and develop new technologies to support economic transition and address climate change challenges.
State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc of Vietnam.
In a pre-recoded video to the APEC CEO Summit 2021 that opened on November 11, Phuc also called on international businesses and partners to invest in green development in Vietnam.
Your success is ours, he said.
He welcomed the summit’s discussions on sustainable development and climate change adaptation, noting that the green planet is being shaken by unprecedented effects of climate change, extreme natural disasters, environmental degradation, and especially the COVID-19 pandemic.
Those challenges are getting more serious every day, requiring the world to act together to address them, he stressed.
According to Phuc, responding to climate change is a common responsibility of all economies that requires creative and effective international cooperation efforts, including offering resources, new technologies and capacity building to developing countries.
“In its decision making process, the State should take into account long-term benefits and introduce a comprehensive approach, from infrastructure, finance and to environmental protection and labour,” said Phuc. “In its leading role, the State does not replace actors in society but encourages the establishment of appropriate institutions to mobilize resources from enterprises and people in order to promote public-private projects for green growth,” said President Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
To realize the goals of green growth and sustainable development, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc emphasized the role of businesses in developing an economy based on law-carbon emissions and green growth to improve their competitiveness and sustainable development.
He suggested that each enterprise have a roadmap for cutting greenhouse gas emissions and greening economic sectors, by developing clean energy projects and new technologies.
It’s imperative to build a smart green agriculture, form green supply chains and encourage consumers’ environmentally friendly behavior, said Phuc.
He suggested that the APEC Business Advisory Council should develop a set of guidelines for promoting sustainable business practice, with a primary focus on small and medium-sized enterprises.
Noting that Vietnam is among the countries most affected by climate change and rising sea levels, President Phuc emphasized that the country is committed to taking drastic action to transform its economic model to green growth and comprehensively respond to climate change.
At the recent 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP 26), Vietnam strongly committed to achieving emission balance by 2050 (net zero emissions), increasing the proportion of renewable energy to over 30% of the total primary energy supply, and sustaining the national forest coverage at 43%.
Vietnam aspires to achieve human-centered green growth based on modern institutionalization and governance, advanced science and technology, high-quality human resources. It wishes to cooperate with other APEC members, business communities and foreign partners to successfully implement this process, he noted.
In addition to further improving its business climate, Phuc said Vietnam has also formulated a preferential mechanism for businesses to seize opportunities to engage in the supply of green products and services, perfect institutions and policies on developing green businesses, and renovate eco-industrial parks.
He called on international investors to come to Vietnam, a market of nearly 100 million consumers and member of 14 bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements, to cooperate, share benefits and develop sustainably.
