The new wealth of Vietnam with its forest carbon

Vietnam is meeting its commitments to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, and Vietnam also has great financial potential.

Excess carbon is a financial value, and forest carbon trading in Vietnam is understood as the absorption of forest carbon that can be sold and earned. This sale can take the form of transferring GHG emission reduction results or selling forest carbon credits. But currently, in Vietnam, it has been limited to transferring the results of GHG emission reduction in the North Central region to the World Bank.

Carbon in the form of CO2 that is available in nature and stored by trees can now be traded for money. The newly enacted government decree 107 is the legal basis for this. With a price of 5 USD/ton, it is expected that in the next three years, six pilot localities will earn 200 billion VND per year from carbon storage activities. Thus, it will provide more livelihoods for forest-dependent farmers.

The sharing plan has been finalized and six provinces in northern and central Vietnam will receive VND200 billion to pay for the services of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from forests. According to a representative of the General Department of Forestry, in the coming time, there will be specific documents guiding the payment, but the sharing principle is quite clear, based on the forest area of each locality.

Recent studies show that forest carbon trading will increase resources to protect forests and reduce pressure on natural forests.However, the Republic of Vietnam needs to perfect its legal framework as soon as possible, because what is currently missing is a comprehensive legal framework that clearly delineates the rights to buy and sell.

The goal is to establish a carbon credit exchange by 2025. Five USD/tonne of forest carbon is also a modest figure compared to the global market, but it is likely to rekindle hope among forest managers. It is the hope of a carbon-neutral and zero greenhouses gas-emitting Vietnam by 2050.