JICA supports Vietnam to build a legal framework to reduce harmful man-made greenhouse gases

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Viet Nam Officeand the Department of Climate Change (DCC) under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) jointly organized a workshop on “Exchanging experiences on fluorocarbon gas (F-gas) management” in Hanoi on April 28, 2021.

The workshop was organized as a part of a “Survey on promoting the next framework of climate change under the Paris Agreement Rule-book in Vietnam” which JICA has been implementing since July 2020, for Viet Nam to exchange experiences on F-gas management with other countries such as Japan, Australia, Singapore and Malaysia.

At the workshop, speakers from Japan, Australia, Singapore and Malaysia shared with Vietnamese counterparts both their challenges and efforts in management of F-gases. They agreed that Asian countries need to join hands to take actions on phasing down Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) - common F-gases - to meet the targets set out in the Kigali Amendment and contribute to the Paris Agreement.

“Together with the Initiative on Fluorocarbons Life Cycle Management of the Government of Japan which Vietnam agreed to join in October last year, technical analysis on current management of F-gas in Vietnam by JICA’s Japanese experts will help MONRE informulation of specific regulations to control the use and disposal of F-gases. We also hopethat our experiences on using appropriate technologies for recovery and destruction of F-gases are also useful for Vietnamese companies when the Government implement strict measures forF-gas management”, said Mr. Murooka Naomichi, Senior Representative of JICA Vietnam Office.

Dr. Tang The Cuong - General of DCC - highly appreciated JICA’s supports and explainedthat Article 92 of the revised LEP provides major responsibilities and requirements for MONRE as the focal point, and also actions by related ministries and relevant stakeholders inphasing out Ozone Depleting Substances and phasing down HFCs.

“Learning from experiences of Japan and other countries will help us to come up with effective HFC control measures and particularly to stimulate the private sector to convert into more environment friendly technologies,” concluded Mr. Cuong in his closing remark.

With improved contents of the Chapter on Responding to Climate Change in the revised LEP, which was adopted in November 2020 by the National Assembly, Vietnam reconfirmed its commitment in joining the global efforts in combating climate change.

Article 92 of the LEPset important rules and principles for Vietnam to strictly control the consumption of F-gases in order to ensure the implementation of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty on F-gases, which Vietnam has been an active member since September2019.

Vietnam have been taking steps to phase out all ozone depleting substances and planned to start phasing down F-gases from 2024. Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are widely used as a refrigerant in household and industrial air conditioners, refrigerators, cleaning precision electronic equipment, spray propellants, urethane used in building materials, etc. HFCs have much higher global warming potential than CO₂ and if released, they stay in the atmosphere for decades.

According to a report by MONRE, in 2019, HFCs consumption of Vietnam reached 3,772.621 metric tons while export of HFC was 33.69 metric tons.