The scheme of circular economy development in Vietnam was approved by the Prime Minister in Decision 687/QD-TTg dated June 7, 2022. In the context of the Covid-19 epidemic, Vietnam must consider orientations and policy requirements to ensure more sustainable development.
About the project
The project has set out the overall goal of developing a knowledge-based economy to create a driving force for innovation and improve labor productivity, contributing to promoting green growth associated with economic restructuring and model innovation growth in the direction of enhancing efficiency, circular cohesion between businesses and economic sectors, improving competitiveness and resilience of enterprises and supply chains to external shocks, in order to contribute to economic prosperity, environmental sustainability and social equity, towards a green, carbon-neutral economy and contribute to the goal of limiting global temperature rise.
The aims of the project:
Firstly, contribute to concretise the target of reducing greenhouse gas emission intensity per GDP by at least 15% by 2030 compared to 2014, towards the goal of net emissions to "zero" by 2050.
Secondly, increase awareness and investment interest of domestic and foreign enterprises and investors in the concept of CE; promote the application of the model of the local economy to promote the greening of economic sectors. By 2025, CE projects will initially be put into practice and bring into play their economic, social, technological and environmental efficiency; contribute to the recovery of renewable resources, reduce energy consumption, increase the share of renewable energy in the total primary energy supply, the rate of forest cover, increase the rate of waste recycling, strengthen the localisation rate of agricultural, forestry and fishery products and export industries. By 2030, CE projects will become a major driver in reducing primary energy consumption, and have the capacity to self-manage most or all of the energy demand based on renewable energy, and increase the forest coverage ratio.
Thirdly, the CE model supports building a green lifestyle, encouraging waste separation and promoting sustainable consumption. By 2025, reuse, recycle and treat 85% of generated plastic waste; reduce 50% of plastic waste in the sea and ocean compared to the previous period; gradually reduce the production and use of non-degradable plastic bags and disposable plastic products in daily life; significantly increase the recycling capacity of organic waste in urban and rural areas. Raise awareness of agencies, organisations, businesses, communities and people in the production, consumption and disposal of plastic waste, non-biodegradable plastic bags and single-use plastic products in daily life. By 2030, the proportion of urban daily-life solid waste collected and treated meets standards and regulations through the CE models to reach 50%; 100% of urban organic waste and 70% of rural organic waste are recycled; does not give rise to the direct burial of domestic solid waste from the CE models in urban areas; maximise the rate of urban wastewater collected and treated to meet standards and regulations as prescribed in urban areas.
Fourthly, the CE model makes an important contribution to improving the quality of life and people's resilience to climate change, ensuring equality in conditions and opportunities to promote capacity, improve energy labor productivity and income of workers from the basic economy.
Challenges to the development of Circular Economy in Vietnam
Currently, Vietnam does not have a legal pathway specifically regulating CE. In addition, a set of criteria to identify, evaluate and classify the development level of the mainstream economy has not been fully developed. Moreover, it is still difficult to create a general consensus on the correct perception of the nature of CE, from design to implementation in industries and fields, for each enterprise, people and management levels. This is also easy to understand, because CE is a term that is not strange to developed countries but is quite new to Vietnam, especially when it comes to popularising people about it. In addition, the development of CE must go hand in hand with innovation and application of modern technology. Meanwhile, Vietnam is a developing country, where most of the technology is still outdated, and the production scale is fragmented and small. On the other hand, the basic economy requires a team of experts who are good at all stages of the production process, especially the last stage - reuse and recycle waste effectively and safely. However, Vietnam currently does not have many experts in this field, so it largely relies on links and grants from developed countries such as Japan, the UK, France, Canada, China and some countries in the world and European Union area. Furthermore, the capacity of reuse and recycling technology of Vietnamese enterprises is still limited. In addition, people's habits in production and consumption of disposable plastic and nylon products are very large and difficult to change in a short time. This is really a big challenge in the conversion process, because the CE model requires the classification and cleaning of emissions before being put into recycling and reusing.
Official document on the project