Political declaration on establishing the Just Energy Transition Partnership with Viet Nam

GOV.UK

Published 14 December 2022

  1. The Governments of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, together with the International Partners Group, consisting of the European Union, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America, Japan, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of France, the Italian Republic, Canada, the Kingdom of Denmark and the Kingdom of Norway;
  2. Recognising the need to accelerate action towards the objectives and long-term goals of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement, including through the implementation of the Glasgow Climate Pact, to minimise the worst adverse impacts of climate change for countries, people and the environment;
  3. Noting that limiting global warming to 1.5°C to mitigate the worst adverse impacts of climate change requires rapid, deep and sustained reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions, including reducing global carbon dioxide emissions by 45% by 2030 relative to the 2010 level and to net zero around mid-century as well as deep reductions in other greenhouse gas emissions, emphasising climate change adaptation and achieving net zero emissions as an opportunity for sustainable development;
  4. Recognising that for Viet Nam, as an independent, sovereign and fast developing lower middle income country heavily affected by the impacts of climate change, it will be key to embrace the opportunities brought about by the fast decreasing cost of renewable energies as an opportunity for sustainable development and to tackle related challenges such as poverty, inequality and unemployment, which are exacerbated by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change, and that vulnerable groups and some important economic sectors may be impacted by the energy transition, including thermal electricity generation, coal mining, heavy industry and transport;
  5. Recognising the need for new, predictable, long-term and sustainable support from partner countries, multilateral organisations and investors in finance, technology and capacity building for Viet Nam to exploit fully the opportunities of the transition in accordance with the national framework of public debt and external debt management to contribute significantly to the implementation of the NDC of Viet Nam, its commitment to reach to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and its development orientation to become a high-income developed country by 2045;
  6. Tiếp tục đọc “Political declaration on establishing the Just Energy Transition Partnership with Viet Nam”

Vietnam to increase coal imports in 2025-2035 period: Ministry

Vietnam’s coal imports are forecast to rise to meet domestic production demand, according to a draft strategy for developing the coal industry in Vietnam recently introduced by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

vietnamplus.vn

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam’s coal imports are forecast to rise to meet domestic production demand, according to a draft strategy for developing the coal industry in Vietnam recently introduced by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

Accordingly, Vietnam will import about 50-83 million tonnes of coal per year during the period from 2025 to 2035, with the volume gradually falling to about 32-35 million tonnes by 2045.

The data from the MoIT shows domestic coal consumption increased rapidly from 27.8 million tonnes in 2011 to 38.77 million tonnes in 2015, and about 53.52 million tonnes in 2021.

The volume of coal consumed at present has more than doubled compared to 2011, mainly for electricity production.

The demand for primary energy, including coal, will continue to increase, possibly peaking in the 2030-2035 period, the ministry said.

Vietnam’s coal demand will be around 94-97 million tonnes in 2025, and peak at 125-127 million tonnes in 2030, mainly due to the increase in demand for power generation, and the cement, metallurgy and chemical industries.

The ministry also predicted that the demand for energy after 2040 will decline due to the energy transition process to meet emission reduction targets.

Tiếp tục đọc “Vietnam to increase coal imports in 2025-2035 period: Ministry”

China, India, other big coal users missing from COP26 phase-out deal

reuters.com

By Kate Abnett and Elizabeth Piper

Summary

  • Poland, Indonesia sign up to phase out coal
  • China, India, U.S., Australia not included
  • COP26 mini deals aim to add up to big climate win

GLASGOW, Nov 4 (Reuters) – Indonesia, Poland, Vietnam and other nations pledged on Thursday to phase out use of coal-fired power and stop building plants, but their deal at the COP26 climate summit failed to win support from China, India and other top coal consumers.

Britain has said one of its main aims for the United Nations summit is “consigning coal power to history”. The deal saw 23 nations making new commitments, a move the president of the COP26 summit, Alok Sharma, said put the end of coal “in sight”.https://17f4ab6d574607e1c63d4da62d7a4666.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

“Today I think we can say that the end of coal is in sight,” Sharma told the Glasgow meeting.

Tiếp tục đọc “China, India, other big coal users missing from COP26 phase-out deal”

More than 40 countries agree to phase out coal-fired power

theguardian.com

Critics say pledge to end use of dirtiest fuel source in 2030s and 40s does not go far enough

Steam and smoke rise from Bełchatów power station in Poland.
Steam and smoke rise from Bełchatów power station in Poland, one of the countries that has agreed to phase out coal-fired power. Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Fiona HarveyJillian Ambrose and Patrick Greenfield in GlasgowWed 3 Nov 2021 22.30 GMT

More than 40 countries have agreed to phase out their use of coal-fired power, the dirtiest fuel source, in a boost to UK hopes of a deal to “keep 1.5C alive”, from the Cop26 climate summit.

Major coal-using countries, including Canada, Poland, South Korea, Ukraine, Indonesia and Vietnam, will phase out their use of coal for electricity generation, with the bigger economies doing so in the 2030s, and smaller economies doing so in the 2040s.

Tiếp tục đọc “More than 40 countries agree to phase out coal-fired power”

South Korea and Japan Will End Overseas Coal Financing. Will China Catch Up?

WRI.org

Since 2013, public finance from China, Japan and South Korea accounted for more than 95% of total foreign financing toward coal-fired power plants. This financing enabled the construction and operation of coal power plants in developing countries, where investment in power supply does not match demand. These investments also came at a time when the global carbon budget was already overstretched.

Tiếp tục đọc “South Korea and Japan Will End Overseas Coal Financing. Will China Catch Up?”

BlackRock Warns Korea’s Power Giant on Overseas Coal Plant Push

(Bloomberg) — BlackRock Inc. has challenged Korea Electric Power Corp. over plans to invest in new coal-fired power plants in Vietnam and Indonesia.

The world’s top asset manager raised concerns over “several controversial coal projects” with a South Korean utility, including in meetings in the first quarter, it said in a report last month. BlackRock “contacted the CEO seeking a clear strategic rationale for its investments in coal energy,” it said, without naming the company.

Kepco, as the utility is known, confirmed Thursday that it received a letter from BlackRock, which it said requested fuller disclosure of its planned involvement in new coal-fired plants overseas.
Tiếp tục đọc “BlackRock Warns Korea’s Power Giant on Overseas Coal Plant Push”

Japanese bank Mizuho to stop lending to coal power plants

19:20 | 19/04/2020
Japanese financial giant Mizuho Financial Group will stop investing and offering loans to new coal power projects as well as end all loans for coal by 2050.

Mizuho – one of the three so-called megabanks of Japan – plans to reduce its outstanding balance of JPY300 billion ($2.8 billion) in loans to coal power plants by half by the 2030 fiscal year and reduce it to zero by 2050. The bank will go to great lengths to de-carbonate as coal power plants emit massive amounts of CO2 – a major contributor to global warming, according to Asahi.
Tiếp tục đọc “Japanese bank Mizuho to stop lending to coal power plants”

Vietnam May Back Off From Coal as Plants Get Harder to Build

(Bloomberg) — Follow Bloomberg on LINE messenger for all the business news and analysis you need. Vietnam may scale back a plan to boost coal’s role in its power generation as financial restrictions and local environmental concerns make it more difficult to build plants. The National Steering Committee for Power Development has recommended eliminating about 15 gigawatts of planned new coal plan

Read more at: https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/vietnam-may-back-away-from-coal-as-plants-get-harder-to-build?utm_source=Mekong+Eye&utm_campaign=583690c75e-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_01_10_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5d4083d243-583690c75e-527526165
Copyright © BloombergQuint

Vietnam and Asia neighbors hungry for cheap coal

asia.nikkei.com

Demand for low-grade coal expands amid economic growth

Vietnam’s steam coal imports in 2019 are estimated to total about 32 million tons, twice the amount for last year and up three times from three years ago.   © Reuters

TOKYO — Demand for low-grade coal with lower combustion efficiency is growing amid economic growth in Vietnam and other emerging Asian countries, placing another hurdle in the global race to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

While prices of high-grade coal with higher power generation efficiency have fallen by more than 30% over the past year as developed countries have been reducing coal consumption, prices of low-grade coal have fallen more slowly. The price difference between the two categories of coal has shrunk to one-third the level of a year ago. Tiếp tục đọc “Vietnam and Asia neighbors hungry for cheap coal”

Europe’s biggest insurance group Allianz stops insuring coal companies

DW

Europe’s biggest insurance group, Germany-based Allianz, stops selling policies to coal companies effective immediately under efforts to reduce the use of fossil fuel and foster climate-saving energy policies.

    
Allianz Versicherungskonzern Zentrale bei München (picture-alliance/dpa)

Munich, Germany-based Allianz Group announced on Friday that it would refuse insurance coverage of coal-fired power plants and coal mines with immediate effect, and would aim to get rid of all coal risks in its business by 2040.

Read more: How can the world move beyond fossil fuels?

In addition, Europe’s biggest insurer said it would stop investing in companies that do not cut their greenhouse gas emissions.

“We want to promote the transition to a climate-friendly economy,” said chief executive Oliver Bäte, adding that the company wanted to get “even more serious on global warming.” Tiếp tục đọc “Europe’s biggest insurance group Allianz stops insuring coal companies”

1,200 megawatt Vietnam coal plant gets funding, but Standard Chartered pulls out over climate policy conflict

The London-headquartered bank withdrew from the US$1.87 billion coal-fired power plant’s financing consortium, but eight other banks, including Singapore’s OCBC and DBS and Malaysia’s Maybank, closed the deal.

eco-business_What will be one of Vietnam’s largest coal-fired power stations has secured enough funding to get built, but a key member of the financing syndicate has pulled out following a campaign that highlighted a major conflict with the bank’s climate policy.

Financing closed on the US$1.87 billion, 1,200 megawatt Nghi Son 2 coal-fired power plant last week. But London-headquartered Standard Chartered Bank—which was initially part of a consortium of nine banks that includes Singapore’s Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) and DBS, Malaysia’s Maybank and Japan Bank for International Cooperation—was absent from the final list of financiers.

A campaign by green groups Greenpeace and Market Forces pointed out that by financing the coal plant, StanChart was in breach of its own policy on energy and climate change. That policy rules out providing loans for coal plants above a certain emissions intensity.

The coal financing deal also goes against the Equator Principles, a framework for banks to assess the environmental and social risk of the infrastructure projects they finance, that StanChart signed in 2003.

Vietnam is well-placed for clean energy investment, but Singapore’s major banks continue to miss opportunities to fund a clean energy development pathway, instead locking in polluting coal for decades to come.

Julien Vincent, executive director, Market Forces

Tiếp tục đọc “1,200 megawatt Vietnam coal plant gets funding, but Standard Chartered pulls out over climate policy conflict”

Standard Chartered ‘breaching climate policy’ with Vietnam coal plant investment

climatechangenews

The London-based bank plans to co-finance Nghi Son 2 power plant, which NGOs say uses dirty old technology, against company and OECD guidelines

A railway coal depot in northern Vietnam (Pic: Flickr/garycycles8)

By Chloe Farand for DeSmog UK

A London-based bank has been accused of breaching its climate pledges over the financing of a heavily polluting coal-fired power plant in Vietnam.

Standard Chartered, a UK bank which supports British companies trading abroad, plans to co-finance the $2.5bn (£1.81bn) Nghi Son 2 coal plant in Thanh Hoa province, Vietnam.
Tiếp tục đọc “Standard Chartered ‘breaching climate policy’ with Vietnam coal plant investment”

Funding coal in Southeast Asia is ‘collective suicide’

eco-business.com – Experts at the Unlocking capital for sustainability forum observed that the finance sector, hampered by a short-term approach to investing, is lagging on sustainability, and that the financing of coal should be phased out as soon as possible.

Tuyên bố Các tổ chức xã hội Đông Nam Á và Sáng kiến Liên minh các nước Nói không với điện than do Vương Quốc Anh và Canada khởi xướng

GreenID

Tuyên bố

Các tổ chức xã hội Đông Nam Á và Sáng kiến Liên minh các nước Nói không với điện than do Vương Quốc Anh và Canada khởi xướng

Chúng tôi, những tổ chức kí tên dưới đây, hoan nghênh sáng kiến Liên minh các nước nói không với điện than do Vương quốc Anh và Canada khởi xướng. Những quốc gia này một lần nữa nhấn mạnh sự cần thiết của việc cắt giảm cacbon và loại bỏ than đối với tất cả quốc gia trên thế giới. Đối với các quốc gia phát triển, đây là yêu cầu cấp thiết cần phải hoàn thành trước năm 2030, đối với các quốc gia còn lại thời hạn sẽ là năm 2050. Tuy nhiên chúng tôi kêu gọi các quốc gia đẩy nhanh hơn nữa thời hạn loại bỏ điện than để mục tiêu 100% năng lượng tái tạo có thể được hiện thực hóa trước năm 2030 đối với các quốc gia phát triển và trước năm 2050 đối với các quốc gia đang phát triển.
Tiếp tục đọc “Tuyên bố Các tổ chức xã hội Đông Nam Á và Sáng kiến Liên minh các nước Nói không với điện than do Vương Quốc Anh và Canada khởi xướng”

HSBC accused of breaking EU sanctions rules by co-financing Vietnam coal plant

HSBC might be breaking European Union rules on working with Russian banks by funding a new 1,200 megawatt coal-fired power station in Vietnam. The bank, which recently announced a US$100 billion fund to fight climate change, denies this.

 eco-business_HSBC, one of the world’s largest financial services groups, may have broken European Union (EU) sanctions regulations by working with a Russian bank on the financing of a new coal-fired power plant in Vietnam, according to an investigation by Market Forces, an environmental group that campaigns against the funding of fossil fuel power projects.

The London-based global banking giant is the lead arranger and global coordinator for the financing of LongPhu1, a 1,200 megawatt coal-fired power station that is also being funded by Russian development bank Vnesheconombank. Tiếp tục đọc “HSBC accused of breaking EU sanctions rules by co-financing Vietnam coal plant”