Ministries and sectors urgently build a legal corridor, striving to test the carbon floor by the end of 2025.
The above information was said by Dr. Nguyen Tuan Quang, Deputy Director of the Department of Climate Change (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) at the Vietnam Net Zero Forum 2025, on July 18.
Mr. Quang said that the Ministry of Finance has submitted to the Prime Minister for approval a draft Decree on the domestic carbon credit trading floor. Accordingly, this trading floor operates similarly to the stock exchange, with two types of goods: emission quotas and carbon credits.
For the international market, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is drafting a Decree on international exchange of greenhouse gas emission reduction results and carbon credits. The draft will be submitted to the Government this year. Thus, according to Mr. Quang, the legal corridor and infrastructure will be "completed by the end of this year to pilot the carbon floor".
Dr. Nguyen Tuan Quang, Deputy Director of the Department of Climate Change at the event. Photo: The Leader
A carbon credit is a tradable permit or certificate that has a purchase or sale value and gives the holder the right to emit one ton of CO2 or another listed greenhouse gas.
Mr. Le Quang Linh, advisor at carbon finance company Giant Bard, said Vietnam has great potential in implementing carbon credit projects, by taking advantage of available resources. Some typical solutions are biochar from agricultural waste, recovering biogas to generate electricity from pig farming, and burning waste to generate electricity.
For example, biochar can reduce carbon emissions from waste-to-energy conversion by 10-12% and store carbon permanently in soil. Vietnam has implemented pilot projects and national research on the properties of this product.
Despite the potential, the management agency warned that uncontrolled international transactions could cause Vietnamese businesses to lack carbon credits, and make it difficult for Vietnam to meet its emission reduction commitments.
The leader of the Department of Climate Change explained that international transactions will be adjusted accordingly, meaning that Vietnam's contribution to its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) commitment will be deducted and credited to another country. "If we do not manage these transactions, we will not be able to fulfill our commitment," said Dr. Quang.
At the corporate level, domestic airlines need 2,3 million carbon credits in the next five months to meet their emissions reduction obligations under CORSIA (Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation). Shipping companies also need to reduce emissions under the United Nations International Maritime Agreement.
Or with the European carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), if Vietnam does not have a carbon pricing mechanism and credits for offset, businesses without emission reduction measures will have to pay carbon fees of up to 20-35% of the value of goods, or buy high-priced offset credits from abroad.
Ms. Betty Palard, Vice President of Eurocham's Green Growth Committee, also recommended that carbon credit generators limit international transactions to domestic demand, which is expected to increase sharply from 2026.
According to statistics from the World Bank (WB), counting the certification of international organizations Verra and Gold Standard alone, Vietnam has issued more than 22 million carbon credits since 2003, more than half of which were issued last year. With the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), Vietnam has been certified and exchanged more than 40 million credits.
Source: http://vnexpress.net/san-giao-dich-carbon-du-kien-van-hanh-thu-nghiem-vao-cuoi-2025-4915882.html