VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam has 20 thermal power plants now and plans to have more than double that by 2050.

Off the cuff, this makes sense. The nation is growing and needs more energy than ever.

However, if we look beyond mere numbers and visualise the social and environmental impacts of 51 coal-powered plants in the country, the rosy picture is blackened considerably, literally and otherwise.

A study published earlier this year by a group of researchers from Havard University and Greenpeace, an international non-governmental environmental organisation based in Amsterdam, cautions that by 2030, Viet Nam and Indonesia will be among the nations worst affected by coal pollution. Tiếp tục đọc “Black gold and a bleak future” →