Vietnam can save 11% of energy consumption, equivalent to 11GW in the future if it makes sound investment in energy. (photo for illustration)
The Ministry of Industry and Trade held a meeting on June 15 to review the CPEE project which has been carried out over the last five years from 2012 to June 30, 2017.
The project set the target of attaining an energy saving figure of 360,400 TOE (tonne of oil equivalent) and a greenhouse emission reduction rate of 1.25 million tonnes of CO2 by the closing date of the project.
However, the results reported that the project has achieved only 70% of the energy saving target and 75% of the greenhouse emission reduction target.
The project, funded by the Global Environment Fund with a total cost of US$4.15 million, has so far received 89% of the total funding with the remaining amount to be disbursed by the end of this month.
Nguyen Dinh Hiep, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Energy Conservation and Energy Efficiency Association, said that more attractive policies are needed to encourage enterprises to participate in the energy saving project and to negotiate for more ambitious goals, adding that many enterprises refused to sign agreements due to unattractive policies.
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Energy Conservation Centre, it is necessary to ensure adequate resources for finance, technology and human resources to implement voluntary agreements with enterprises in key industrial sectors over the long term.
Experts from the World Bank said that improving energy efficiency will create positive impacts on production activities, noting that Vietnam can save 11% of energy consumption, equivalent to 11GW in the future if it makes sound investment in energy.
In addition, the country should shift from voluntary to compulsory participation mechanism combined with building laws and sanctions to help enterprises abide by energy saving regulations.
The CPEE project aims to strengthen the capacity of Vietnam and other key stakeholders for the effective delivery of the national energy efficiency programme in key industrial sectors, thereby improving energy efficiency and reducing associated greenhouse gas emissions.
There are three components to the project. The first component of the project is energy efficiency action plans for key industrial sectors while the second component of the project is development of energy service providers, and the third is capacity building for programme management, monitoring and evaluation.