The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will help Vietnam develop green technology, focusing on biodiesel fuels.
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| The signing ceremony |
On September 12, JICA, along with Vietnam National University agreed to a project that would have, "multiple benefits towards the mitigation of climate change in the area, as well as facilitate the development of biofuels into the future."
The Japanese Government has agreed to fund $5 million for the project which will focus on planting trees such as Jatropha, which can grow in contaminated or polluted soil, and which can also be used to produce fuels. This could help to maximise efficiency, and develop sustainable, green industry.
The project is expected to establish an economically and environmentally sustainable "biomass energy cycle" (cultivation-production-utilisation), which could be put into wider usage.
The project, which will last from October of this year to the end of 2016, has attracted many of the leading scientists in the field from both countries. Among the participants are researchers from Osaka Prefecture University, Osaka City University, Ehime University, as well as a number of Vietnamese technological and environmental institutes.
According to Mr. Motonori Tsuno, Chief Representative of JICA Vietnam Office, the project has the potential to be very important for Vietnam, which is one of the hardest-hit countries by climate change. It could also help, he said, to promote the viability and advantages of biodiesel, serving as a model for other countries in the region.
