7. Cross-cutting issues

The rapid development of Viet Nam’s renewable energy market raises several opportunities and challenges of a cross-cutting nature. Without careful, long term planning, the potential for mismanagement of end of life solar photovoltaic (PV) waste can have negative environmental effects and deteriorate public confidence in the energy transition. As Viet Nam moves into a new phase of deployment under Power Development Plan VIII it will be important to begin developing the enabling environment to avoid these negative impacts and to extract maximum economic value from the management and recycling of raw materials. Regional initiatives for grid integration holds great promise as a cost effective method for variable renewable energy integration. Progress has been slow to date but renewed focus on overcoming the challenges to establish multilateral trading should be prioritised. The significant investment in clean energy infrastructure over the coming decade and the reshaping of Viet Nam’s energy system this will bring offers opportunities to drive regional economic and social development. On the other hand, it also brings challenges for communities whose livelihoods are reliant on declining industries. Long-term planning will be needed to understand the social dimension of the energy transition and to formulate appropriate policies to support vulnerable communities.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Power Grid (APG) has the potential to be a key flexibility resource to allow the integration of higher shares of variable renewable energy generation. So far, the development of the APG has been mainly bilateral, and elements that could support variable renewable energy (vRE) integration, such as harmonised grid codes and a regional market, are still in very early stages. Most ASEAN member states have interconnections of some kind, with trade arrangements mostly limited to unidirectional power trades under power purchase agreements or bidirectional trading of electricity without financial compensation. Cross-border interconnectors with multilateral, multidirectional power trading in ASEAN can promote effective asset utilisation and resource sharing that benefits member states and the region as a whole. Viet Nam’s participation could help strengthen the APG’s ongoing development, whilst also supporting the integration of an increasing share of renewables over the Power Development Plan (PDP) VIII, particularly solar and wind, in a cost-effective, reliable and environmentally sustainable manner.

Financial services integration under the ASEAN Economic Community has seen modest progress to date. As Vietnamese banks move to BASEL II standards, there will be opportunities to capture the benefit from enhanced integration through the ASEAN Bank Integration Framework. Opening the sector to greater competition once Vietnamese banks are sufficiently strong can promote greater sector efficiency, technology and expertise transfer, inward investment and a diversification of the customer deposit base.

Viet Nam has made significant progress over the last decade in developing the legal framework and business environment to support innovation most notably with the alignment of intellectual property (IP) rights to international norms and participation in a number of international conventions and treaties. Innovation in the clean energy sector can be particularly important where local conditions necessitate localised technical solutions. In Southeast Asia, the offshore wind industry is facing new challenges due to earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons and different ground conditions than those in Europe where offshore wind innovation has mostly been centred. As the industry progresses, there may be opportunities where government support for research and development (R&D) can reduce the cost of energy and create local value through commercialised technical solutions or more efficient processes and techniques1. Innovation across other areas of the clean energy sector can also be beneficial, notably in scaling up innovative pilot programmes led by EVN to support variable renewable energy integration. This includes the energy services company (ESCO) pilot project and demand side reduction pilot which have both been successfully demonstrated. Innovative solutions for integrating solar photovoltaic waste streams into the existing recycling value chain will also be another important area that would benefit from long-term planning and a targeted enabling framework.

In order to enable an inclusive clean energy transition, priority should be given to ensuring that local communities also benefit from clean energy investments in their areas. The link between renewable energy deployment and research and development driven economic development, job creation and rural empowerment should not be taken for granted. A targeted policy framework and long term strategy are essential to enable communities to derive benefits from the clean energy transition (Clausen and Rudolph, 2020[1]). Priority should be given to setting a policy roadmap for a just energy transition, including maximising co-benefits from vRE, developing green industry and jobs, supporting women-led entrepreneurs in clean energy investments and expanding access to clean energy. Viet Nam could also consider including mechanisms in the procurement framework for utility scale renewable projects which target local socio-economic benefits, such as community engagement practices (DIIS, 2021[2]).

Although power generation will rely on coal for the next decades in Viet Nam, it is important for government to already consider how regions which are heavily dependent on the coal industry will transition after its decline. Restructuring the industry of a region is a long-term process which can take decades. By developing a long term vision for transitioning the economy and reskilling affected workers, Viet Nam can find solutions which can help local communities whilst also supporting growing areas of economic activity, such as value chains for energy efficiency and renewable energy.

To support a gender inclusive energy transition, steps will need to be taken to mainstream gender in mitigation efforts. Increasing the gender diversity of leadership teams improves the quality of innovation and financial performance of businesses, and ultimately helps economies tap into more innovative potential to drive the clean energy transition. Whilst Viet Nam has one of the most open business environments for women amongst peer countries, there are still many challenges for female entrepreneurs to access credit and networks. Collecting gender-disaggregated data is a first step towards recognising issues and identifying new opportunities. Viet Nam should be commended on establishing the National Statistical Indicators on gender development but this should be taken a step further with indicators on women’s participation in mitigation efforts and on lending practices to women-led businesses. Gender diversity should also be prioritised in clean energy finance and investment practices, by supporting more gender lens investing which makes gender diversity a priority in investment decisions and by using gender specific lending strategies within banks. Viet Nam has already seen a number of successful associations supporting women led businesses through networking, mentoring and training opportunities. This could be further enhanced by supporting networks for women working in clean energy technologies.

Just as in OECD economies, sustainable finance is an emerging area with best practices evolving and markets adapting to develop the skills and expertise required. Ongoing capacity development will be required to support banks to integrate environmental and social management systems particularly in the use of quantitative tools for environmental risk analysis. Non-recourse or limited recourse project financing structures are rarely utilised in Viet Nam’s clean energy sector to date. Greater use of such structures will support higher levels of domestic investment in clean energy. Project finance requires specialised teams and underwriting processes to undertake due diligence on underlying projects, evaluate cash-flow risks, and structure and de-risk transactions. The government should consider supporting skills development through targeted training programmes in this area. Technical and vocational training is also a key area where activities are already being implemented in co-operation with various development partners. With the speed of development of the green economy, particularly in the clean energy sector, there is a risk that a mismatch could develop in the labour market that could hold back market development. A piecemeal approach to green skills development with fragmented programmes can increase this risk. Viet Nam currently does not have a green skills development strategy which would help to evaluate skills development needs and structure activities with a more integrated approach and over a long-term horizon in line with sector plans.

Strengthening regional power market integration offers several notable opportunities for Viet Nam and for neighbouring countries in the region. Cross border power trade enables complementary utilisation of each country’s resource endowments and power system assets, and supports cost effective and secure system integration of variable renewable energy (vRE). In Viet Nam it can allow export of excess renewable energy generation during periods of oversupply while also enabling access to greater flexible generation resources, in particular hydropower, in other countries to support system balancing. Regional power trade has been one of the key enablers for maintaining power quality and energy security in power systems with increasingly high shares of vRE. This has been particularly evident in the EU with multilateral power trading established under Nord Pool. The government of Viet Nam is involved in two long-standing regional initiatives to support power market integration including the ASEAN Power Grid (APG) which aims to connect the energy markets of ASEAN’s 10-member nations, and the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) programme which also includes Cambodia, the People’s Republic of China, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Thailand.

Both the GMS and APG are still at nascent stages, with most trading remaining bilateral and unidirectional, with little coordination between the two regional initiatives, which cater to different stakeholders. Viet Nam trades power bilaterally with its neighbours under long-term power purchase agreements with two categories of cross-border interconnectors: firstly, those transporting power from specific power plants at high voltage. This includes two interconnectors with Lao PDR importing power from the Xekaman 1 & 3 hydro power plants (290 & 250 MW respectively) majority financed by Viet Nam. Viet Nam is planning two further hydro power projects in co-operation with Lao PDR (Xekaman 4 and Nam Mo) in the coming years with a memorandum of co-operation signed in 2016 confirming the ambition for further “co-operation and development of hydropower projects, interconnecting the power systems and purchase of electricity” (EVN, 2017[3]). The second category of interconnectors are those that import export grid power across neighbouring power systems. Viet Nam has two high voltage connections with China in the north of the country with capacities of 300 MW and 200 MW and a high voltage interconnector with Cambodia with a capacity of 200 MW.

Bilateral power trading across either the APG or GMS regions provides an important initial foundation for greater power market integration but the move to multilateral trading arrangements will go further to fully realise the cost efficiency and energy security benefits that can be delivered. Achieving multilateral power trading has significant challenges of a political, technical, and institutional nature. Power markets in the region are at different stages of development and have varying regulatory structures (including on power trading, pricing and support mechanisms) and technical requirements (such as operating voltage and frequency) that require harmonisation. There is also a requirement to come to agreement on data and information sharing that is of a highly political nature and involving sensitive critical infrastructure (Figure 7.1). Given their early and somewhat fragmented stages of development, Viet Nam’s participation in these initiatives could help strengthen their ongoing development and potentially support their greater alignment.

There has been some progress to date under the GMS and APG frameworks. The GMS programme led to the development of draft harmonised grid codes and a draft wheeling methodology. While these have not been formally implemented, the development process included five of the ten ASEAN member states, suggesting that these could provide a good starting point to developing a more general set of harmonised grid codes for the ASEAN region as a whole (IEA, 2019[4]). Viet Nam is also pushing forward on its power market liberalisation and development plans with a firm timeline of activities over coming years to move to fully liberalised wholesale and retail power markets (see chapter 3). Establishment of a strong and efficient national electricity market is a prerequisite for enabling broader regional market integration. The joint Laos PDR, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore Power Integration Project (LTMS-PIP) has potential to act as a platform to pave the way for accelerated power market integration. As it stands today, the LTMS–PIP involves the sale of electricity from Lao PDR to Malaysia, with Thailand acting as a transit, or wheeling, but will be extended over a two year period (2022-2024) to include Singapore, who confirmed involvement in 2020. At this time Thailand is the main “host’’ for the platform, however, the work already undertaken under LTMS–PIP, for example its development of a wheeling charge methodology, and the negotiations to be undertaken over the coming two years can forge a path for establishing a more generalised foundation for multilateral trading in the region that Viet Nam could benefit from over the medium to long term.

Since 2003 ASEAN member states including Viet Nam committed to broadening and strengthening regional economic cooperation through the vision of an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) that would by 2015 “transform ASEAN into a region with free movement of goods, services, investment, skilled labour and freer flows of capital”. The pathway to achieving the AEC vision was set out in the AEC Blueprint and the steps for financial market integration further elaborated under the Roadmap for Monetary and Financial Integration of ASEAN (RIA-FIN). RIA-FIN activities were arranged around the three themes of financial services liberalisation, capital market development and capital account liberalisation (removal of capital controls and restrictions to flow of capital).

By the end of 2015 ASEAN member states had completed 87% of all measures under the AEC Blueprint and the AEC was formally established (Rillo, 2018[5]). Despite these achievements financial integration across the region, not just between Viet Nam and ASEAN neighbours, remained fragmented particularly when compared to the significant progress made on trade liberalisation (Thanh, 2015[6]). This may reflect a level of cautiousness influenced by the experience of the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s and the need for a long-term stepwise approach due to the disparity in institutional and regulatory development across member states. Enhanced financial integration has the potential to benefit Viet Nam in a number of ways including promoting greater capital flows into the country, improving capital allocation efficiency and financing costs through greater competition, greater macroeconomic resilience, and transfer of technology and managerial expertise. However there are also risks if integration proceeds before the financial market and the institutions and governance arrangements are sufficiently developed. In this case market interlinkages may work against macroeconomic stability as external shocks are more easily spread through the region particularly where risk diversification options are limited (Stiglitz, 2010[7]). This may hold true for Viet Nam over the shorter term as capital markets continue to develop and the banking sector fully recovers from the debt crisis which peaked in 2012.

Continued focus on enhancing financial integration beyond 2015 was reaffirmed in an updated AEC Blueprint covering the period to 2025 which prioritises, among other areas of economic integration, measures to achieve an “increased role of ASEAN indigenous banks, more integrated insurance markets and more connected capital markets”. Increasing the number of qualified ASEAN banks (QABs) is a key target. The QAB concept was introduced by the ASEAN Banking Integration Framework (ABIF) approved in 2014. Depending on the negotiation of bilateral agreements between member states banks that are able to meet certain pre-requisites including metrics related to majority ASEAN ownership, capital adequacy, and corporate governance standards are able to hold QAB status and receive preferential treatment under regulatory frameworks on par with domestic banks. Flexibility was built into the ABIF to recognise the varying readiness levels of member states and the need to proceed on a stepwise bilateral basis rather than multilaterally. Despite a target under the ABIF for establishment of a bilateral agreement by 2020, Viet Nam to date has not entered into such an agreement with another ASEAN member state and therefore has no QABs. It is also telling that the Development Strategy of the Vietnam Banking Sector to 2025 has no specific objectives directly related to regional integration or for QABs more specifically. As Viet Nam’s banks strengthen and move toward BASEL II standards regional integration could support Viet Nam’s most developed banks to further strengthen through QAB status particularly as clean energy and other infrastructure investment needs continue to expand and the banking sector remains the primary source of financing.

Substantial improvements to protect intellectual property (IP) rights have been made over the past two decades, with recognition within government of its importance in shaping an attractive business climate to promote technology transfer through foreign direct investment (FDI) and licensing, and greater commercialisation of indigenous research and development. The OECD has found that the strength of a country’s patent rights is positively correlated to inward FDI with every 1% increase in patent protection correlating to a 2.8% increase in FDI (Park and Lippoldt, 2008[8]). There is also evidence that strong IP rights supports technology transfers through increased licensing. It is important to note that evidence suggests such benefits also depend on wider enabling factors such as government effectiveness, contract enforcement and corruption levels (Arora, 2007[9]).

The legal regime in Viet Nam comprises of several pieces of legislation, including the 2005 Civil Code, the Criminal Code, the 2005 Intellectual Property Law amended in 2009, and their implementing regulations. In 2019, the Government of Viet Nam issued a National Strategy on Intellectual Property with a Vision to 2030, to act as a guideline for ministries, sectors and state agencies to further develop IP rights. Viet Nam’s domestic IP laws are generally aligned with international norms and is a signatory of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the WTO Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (WTO TRIPS) Agreement, the World Intellectual Property Organization, the Patent Cooperation Treaty, the Madrid Protocol and The Hague Agreement concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs. This is further strengthened by the 2020 European-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement whereby Viet Nam has agreed to go beyond the standards of WTO TRIPs agreement, particularly regarding enforcement provisions (European Commission, 2015[10]).

Despite the significant progress, strengthening the legal framework enforcement of IP laws and regulation could be improved. The IP Office provides, and manages at state level, services in the field of IP, including registration of industrial property rights and basic legal appraisals for dispute settlement. There are no specialised IP courts and most IP disputes are handled through administrative action rather than civil action or criminal prosecution. Vietnam ranks 43rd out of 45 countries in the annual IP index released by the US Chamber of Commerce highlighting weaknesses in the enforcement of IP rights and insufficient penalties as key areas of weakness. The fifth edition of the Global Intellectual Property Index (GIPI) ranks Vietnam’s IP regime as 35th out of 43 countries scoring poorly for enforcement, with criticism for a lack of judicial guidance for assessing damages and the complexity of court procedures (International Chambers of Commerce, 2019[11]). In 2014, the National Steering Committee 389 was created to support enforcement agencies’ fight against IP violations. The steering committee passed important regulation in 2020 (Decision No. 195/QD-BCD 389) which defines the modalities for co-operation between steering committees at national, ministry and provincial levels, and how steering committees should cooperate with authorities in the sharing of information and monitoring of case handling.

Despite the progress that needs to be made strengthening the enforcement environment, there is evidence that achievements to date are delivering favourable outcomes for clean energy technology transfers. The number of green technology patent applications have increased from 143 in 2000 to 886 in 2018. Japanese companies and institutions have accounted for almost a quarter of total applications, followed by the United States at 15%, and then Viet Nam at 13%. Within alternative energy production patent applications for biofuels accounted for 60%, followed by solar, wind, hydro and geothermal at 14%, 10%, 6%, and 3%, respectively. Over three quarters of applications fall under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) which means the patents apply protection for an invention simultaneously in the 150+ states bound by the PCT system of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) (Duong, 2020[12]).

Markets can fail when it comes to providing the socially efficient amount of resources aimed at generating new technological and scientific knowledge. This knowledge often has strong public good characteristics, implying that knowledge spill-overs provide benefits to the public as a whole, but not to the innovator (Söderholm et al., 2020[13]). This can be true in the clean energy sector particularly where local conditions necessitate localised technical solutions and processes. This is particularly relevant for the offshore wind industry where offshore project development, construction, and operation and maintenance (O&M) requires more specialised equipment and techniques. In Southeast Asia the offshore wind industry is facing new challenges due to earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons and different ground conditions than those in Europe where offshore wind innovations have often been centred. As the industry progresses, there may be opportunities where government R&D support can reduce the cost of energy and create local value through the development of localised solutions matching Viet Nam’s context (BVG Associates, 2020[14]). Establishing and supporting domestic research and development activities, in addition to international partnerships across universities, government agencies and the private sector, will be key to preparing the way for a cost competitive offshore wind industry.

Innovation in business models and sector development approaches that support wider clean energy technology diffusion are also required. This applies particularly to the biomass sector which is faced with complex and informal supply chains and the energy efficiency sector faced with various behavioural and economic barriers. Biomass feed-stocks in Viet Nam are abundant; rice husk, rice straw, coconut pith, sugar cane bagasse and coffee waste all offer great potential, however, these waste flows are diffuse and often managed in an environmentally unsound manner (NL Agency, 2013[15]). The utilisation of these resources is therefore a business opportunity as well as an environmental benefit but requires engagement with rural communities with few resources, low technical awareness, and, given their lack of capacity to cope with disruption, a natural cautiousness with new processes and technologies. Social innovation approaches where new technologies, processes, or techniques are co-created collaboratively with end-users will be relevant in exploring how farmers and local communities can be engaged. This applies both to densifying and formalising biomass supply chains as feedstock for centralised biomass to power plants and for diffusion of distributed biomass technologies such as small-scale gasifiers and anaerobic digesters.

Viet Nam’s Solar PV market has grown exponentially over the last two years and large scale deployment will continue over the PDP VIII implementation period. Solar PV panels have a useful life of around 20-30 years with a small percentage of panels failing early which means the solar sector will account for a growing waste stream of failed panels and that by around 2040 panel waste will grow exponentially when the first panels reach their end of life. PV panel waste presents an environmental challenge, but also an opportunity to develop new industries, value added activities and jobs. The PV recycling industry will be essential for achieving Viet Nam’s transition to a sustainable, renewables-based energy system. The recycling of decommissioned PV panels can supply both domestic and international demand for raw materials and avoid the potential environmental impacts that could be caused from landfilling. Crystalline silicon modules contain small amounts of lead and tin which can cause disturbances to soil functions, harm aquatic ecosystems, and cause development and behavioural disorders in children (Mahmoudi, Huda and Behnia, 2020[16]). Thin film modules contain small traces of heavy metals such as gallium and cadmium which are highly toxic and also require careful management. To pave the way for adequate waste management and to unlock the benefits of recycling industries, preparatory work must be completed well in advance to ensure the enabling framework is in place to support market development.

The core of an effective enabling framework is a PV specific waste policy that sets waste management targets and a supportive set of regulations which should define clear roles and responsibilities across producers, consumers, and wider society for each stage of the recycling value chain. At present, the European Union (EU) has adopted PV-specific waste regulations as one of the more advanced regional renewable energy markets. The EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive is based on an extended-producer responsibility principle and requires all producers supplying PV panels to the EU market (wherever they may be based) to finance the costs of collecting and recycling (see Box 7.2).

Regulating producers to bear the cost of the full life cycle of the panel promotes innovation and cost reduction so that panels are designed with cost optimised recycling as one of the key criteria. This arrangement is also thought to be more easily monitored and enforced compared to consumer financing obligations. The regulatory framework should also set common standards for collection and recycling and for permitted contractual modalities between the producer and different customer segments (private households vs. corporates) for financing end-of-life obligations. Solar PV recycling can be commercially viable depending on appropriate incentives and fee structure.

Investment in clean energy will help Viet Nam meet its mitigation and energy security objectives, but is also an opportunity deriving wider societal benefits. The socio-economic benefits of renewable project development can be maximised through sustainable and integrated planning, which prioritises opportunities for local actors in the value chain and benefits for local communities. These should not be taken for given and require targeted policy framework and long-term strategy to be developed to ensure that communities also benefit from the clean energy transition. A number of considerations, discussed in the subsequent sections, are also relevant to ensuring a just transition. This includes the creation of opportunities for both genders, ensuring that women are not left behind, and supporting local green industries and jobs, with a focus on technical and vocational training to build human capital. Equally, it is important to ensure that an unfair burden is not placed on communities, for instance with respect to the decommissioning of solar panels or the rehabilitation of land.

Different approaches have been taken by countries to ensure that communities derive socio-economic benefits from renewable deployment. These include community co-ownership, whereby communities become a shareholder of renewable plants, allowing for a share of revenue to be retained and redistributed locally. Another approach is to include community benefits as a selection criteria in the public procurement of private renewable energy generation. This can encourage developers to look for ways to support development activities in local communities near the renewable project, for example through financial payments administered by a local body. Finally, renewable projects can learn from the experience of energy and extractives sectors which shows that developing frameworks for communication can help shape relations between large energy projects and communities and provide a channel of engagement (Box 7.3) (Clausen and Rudolph, 2020[1]) (DIIS, 2021[2]).

Moreover, local communities of renewable projects can benefit from renewable development through well designed tax structures and land fee payments. Taxes on land and housing, the transfer of land-use rights, the use of agriculture land and licences are retained by local government, as are fees on land use, land rent and registration. Dependent on the province’s fiscal capacity, local and central government also share revenue from value-added tax (VAT), corporate and personal income taxes, and taxes on profits remitted abroad (Morgan and Trinh, 2016[18]). The new solar auction mechanism (discussed in chapters 3 and 5), if adopting a solar park or substation model, can allow provinces to have a forward view of revenue that will be received from these taxes and fees. This in turn can enable better planning for how these resources can be utilised for socio-economic development in local communities or for instance for implementing public energy efficiency investments.

Under the PDP VIII draft, although the planned ratio of coal-fired power capacity in 2030 has decreased from the previously revised PDP VII, it will still represent around 41 GW. In 2020, the Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) alone employed 96 000 workers (VietnamPlus, 2021[21]). Although reliance on coal imports is increasing, Viet Nam is also focusing on increasing productivity of domestic mining, which would suggest that the coal mining industry is not likely to decline in the immediate future. Nevertheless, given the position of the coal industry in Viet Nam, it is important for government to already start considering priorities around a just transition, which is the idea of a fair and inclusive energy transition that leaves no one behind.

Restructuring an industry region is a very long-term process. Historic examples show that it can take several decades for former coal mining regions to establish alternative economies, especially if the transition is to be managed in a way to avoid massive job losses or even migration out of the region (Sartor, 2018[22])This means taking into consideration the number of communities that will affected by decarbonisation, whose income significantly depends on the extraction and use of coal, particularly in the Quang Ninh basin, as well as the Red River Delta, Thai Nguyen, Backan, North Path, Da River, Ca River, Na Duong, Nong Song, Ba River, and Mekong River Delta (Mijał, 2018[23]). The government can already start laying the foundations for a just transition towards low carbon energy sources through medium and long-term planning. Other regions, such as the EU and North America are currently tackling these issues by developing just transition funds and programmes on reskilling employees and environmental rehabilitation and repurposing. By learning from the experience of other countries, Viet Nam could determine long-term and cost-effective strategies to support affected workers and communities in the coal-power-generating regions of the country, whilst also supporting growing areas of activity, such as value chains for energy efficiency and renewable energy, and by developing a pipeline of higher skilled workers2.

Viet Nam should be commended on establishing the National Strategy on Gender Equality (NSGE) for the period 2011-2020, with planning for the period 2021-2030 under development. With the view of identifying gender inequalities to be addressed and to assess the impact of existing policy, the Ministry of Planning and Investment also developed a number of gender indicators in 2019. These included indicators looking at women’s participation in leadership roles across government, parliament, committees and private businesses, with the view of meeting Viet Nam’s Sustainable Development Goals (Circular No. 03/2019/TTBKHDT). This was followed by the National Statistical Indicators for Gender Development (Circular No. 10/2019/TTBKHDT), providing a number of indicators across socio-economic priority areas.

High-level statistics on gender portray a relatively positive picture, particularly compared to regional peers, but this also means that the debate around gender inequality in Viet Nam is often not made a priority. This may create a perception that women do not face barriers in business, despite women being disproportionately affected by underemployment, unemployment and unstable working conditions, and representing the majority of Viet Nam’s working poor. The inclusion of a greater range of gender development indicators in official statistics is important, as it allows government to get a realistic measure of gender inequality and obliges line ministries to report on progress in these fields. For Viet Nam’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) review, the United Nations Development Programme suggested a number of indicators which would support the mainstreaming of gender development in mitigation. For example, suggested indicators look at the number of men and women employed or holding leadership positions in the renewable energy sector, or the number of men and women led businesses that have chosen to install rooftop solar PV indicators (UNDP, 2020[24]). Such information can help identify how women are participating in Viet Nam’s clean energy sector and inform targeted policies supporting a gender inclusive energy transition. Currently this type of gender-disaggregated data is not being collected for the energy sector in Viet Nam.

Women can play a central role in the clean energy transition but they must overcome certain challenges, such as unconscious bias, in order to have greater participation in energy and technology sectors, which have typically been dominated by men. Taking steps to support female entrepreneurs in clean energy can have the dual advantage of advancing the mitigation agenda whilst also enhancing women's employment prospects. Whilst the investment climate in Viet Nam is generally supportive for women, who own around 20% of formal enterprises, further steps can be taken to mainstream gender in finance and investment practices, and encourage banks to increase access to capital for women-owned and women-led businesses. Cultural barriers and structural gender gaps still create barriers for female entrepreneurs in Viet Nam to access capital and networks, both of which are essential for business success (Investing in Women, 2021[25]).

Despite untapped demand for credit, an International Finance Corporation (IFC) survey found that banks in Viet Nam were not actively seeking to promote gender specific lending strategies and that a prevailing bias endures that businesses are less successful when led by women (IFC, 2017[26]). Gender lens investing can help narrow the credit gap between male and female entrepreneurs, by taking into consideration the impacts on women as well the returns of the investment. Investing in Women, an Australian programme, is one example that provides support to impact investors to invest in female entrepreneurs in Vietnam and other ASEAN countries. Gender lens investing in Viet Nam is in early stages and only a limited number of funds and private impact investors are looking into this. Better data on lending practices to women led-business and women’s participation in the financial sector can support investors and financiers in identifying opportunities that support both mitigation targets and tackle gender issues. Between 2017 and 2019, seven gender lens investments were identified in Viet Nam, and whilst most of the deal sizes were below USD 500 000, one very large IFC project brought the average up to USD 6 million which highlights the central role that development finance institutions can play in accelerating gender lens investing (Investing in Women, 2021[25]).

Viet Nam has seen a number of successful associations supporting women led businesses through networking, mentoring and training opportunities. Some good examples of these are the Vietnam Association of Female Entrepreneurs (VAFE), the Women’s Initiative for Start-ups and Entrepreneurship (WISE), and Strengthening Women Entrepreneurship Vietnam (SWEV). This could be further enhanced by supporting networks for women working in clean energy technologies, as well as supporting this process at an earlier stage, with programmes that highlight career opportunities to girls as they are considering which academic path to take.

Government spending on renewables and energy efficiency creates three times more jobs than spending on fossil fuels, with job creation up and down the supply chain (McKinsey, 2020[27]). Both sectors have a diverse set of employment needs, from highly specialised to unskilled labour, which means that job creation can take place in the short term as well as requiring a pipeline of training and skills development. Viet Nam has been one of the few countries in the world to have maintained positive growth over 2020, and is forecast to recover to a similar level of GDP growth after COVID-19. Nevertheless, this provides an opportunity to refocus policy on driving durable and resilient growth. A dollar invested in the energy transition can give three to eight times the return. Compared with conventional fiscal stimulus, well-designed projects around renewable energy assets, grid modernisation and energy efficiency building retrofits can generate higher employment and short-term returns per dollar spent (IRENA, 2020[28]).

By creating an enabling environment for investment in energy efficiency, Viet Nam creates opportunities amongst small and medium size businesses and local workers involved in efficient appliances, building materials manufacturing, industrial energy efficiency and building retrofits. Depending on the sector, USD 1 million spent on energy efficiency generate between six and 15 jobs on average, due to the labour-intensive nature of many energy efficiency upgrades. Moreover, energy efficiency investments can be rapidly mobilised, making them an attractive opportunity for government to protect existing jobs or generate new employment in moments of economic slowdown (IEA, 2020[29]).

In the renewable energy sector, employment can be linked to the development and operation of renewable projects, but also around the manufacturing of equipment. Viet Nam’s solar PV workforce already stood at 56 700 jobs in 2019, of which 25 000 of these were in manufacturing (IRENA, 2020[30]). Whilst many jobs have been created around the development of plants, these tend to be temporary in nature, ending when the plant construction is finalised. Operation and maintenance jobs can extend for the duration of the plant’s lifecycle, but tend to be much smaller in number. Job creation in manufacturing represents a greater long-term potential, as it is export-driven and independent of local solar PV installation. To date, modules in Viet Nam have been manufactured in collaboration with Chinese and American manufacturers, and in 2017, this amounted to 5 GW of panels, representing 7% percent of the global market. Whilst there is strong competition in the region from China, Malaysia and Thailand, Viet Nam’s production factors, particularly with respect to steel, electricity tariffs and labour, give it a competitive advantage over certain components (World Bank Group, 2019[31]). In 2020, Viet Nam was amongst the top 10 employers for solar PV manufacturing, who together represented 87% of the PV jobs (IRENA, 2020[30]).

Expanding technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in a strategic and cross-sectoral way will be crucial to ensure Viet Nam has the skilled workforce and capabilities to meet the needs of a greening economy. The offshore wind sector is a good example where a large pool of labour will be needed to support the development, construction and operation of multiple GWs of offshore wind farms. Operation and maintenance alone, which accounts for approximately 35% of the total costs related to an offshore wind farm, are drivers of both localised and long-term steady jobs. Building a labour pool of welders, riggers, inspectors and mariners, in addition to skilled white-collar experts, will be needed to support the long-term sector development in Vietnam and related activities ranging from port upgrades and environmental assessments to the fabrication and maintenance of engineering of infrastructure (Danish Energy Agency, 2020[32]).

TVET is explicitly prioritised in the Green Growth Strategy as well as in the Green Growth Action Plan but to date there is no integrated green skills development strategy that can guide programme formation and investment in this area. An ad hoc approach to skills development may lead to skills deficits and lost opportunities for economic development and local employment. Aligning TVET teaching institutions such as technical and vocational colleges to the needs of the greening economy is central to the process as is ensuring TVET teachers are adequately trained and hold the required competencies. There is currently a lack of competent TVET teachers in the country and curriculums and courses are not well aligned to the needs of the green economy (Mertineit and Dang, 2016[33]).

A number of development partners are working with the government in this area. For example, Agence Française de Développement (AFD) is funding five training centres to offer courses in welding, metal cutting, industrial electricity, automotive mechanics, radio telecommunications equipment installation and fibre optic networks. Supported by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), and in cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Viet Nam National Cleaner Production Centre (VNCPC), part of the Hanoi University of Science and Technology, was established to act as a knowledge hub to build awareness and skills related to cleaner production concepts and their promotion in industrial activities. Under the Viet Nam Energy Efficiency Programme II, Hanoi University of Science and Technology has delivered training programmes for large energy users on aspects of energy management and energy efficiency auditing. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) as funders and Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Technische Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) as implementation agency are also very active in supporting TVET under the Vietnamese-German Programme Reform of TVET.

The government of Viet Nam, through the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV), have worked to develop the legal framework to promote green finance practices in the financial sector, particularly in the banking sector (see chapter 6). As such, Viet Nam is one of few participant countries under IFC’s Sustainable Banking Network where sustainable finance is considered ”established” under the sustainable banking assessment framework (Figure 7.5).

Central to this progress has been the passing of the Directive on Promoting Green Credit Growth and Environmental and Social Risks Management (ESMS) in Credit Granting Activities. The Directive seeks to promote green economy and encourages all credit institutions to incorporate environmental and social (E&S) risks into their transactions. It also requires quarterly reporting of quantitative data to SBV covering both E&S risk management of lending activities and green finance flows (IFC, 2018[34]). SBV has implemented training workshops on this topic and a 2019 survey found 17 banks had set up E&S systems to comply with the regulation. Despite this impressive progress, ongoing capacity development and training will be required to ensure that ESMS is fully integrated and that banks have the skills and quantitative techniques to analyse and reflect E&S risks into their lending operations.

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