MARD reports on nearly 6 million tons of CO2 in the North Central region

The report stated that at the end of 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development transferred 10.3 million tons of carbon (CO2) to the World Bank (WB) according to the agreement. Immediately after that, the WB sent a letter confirming the transfer of about 95% of the transferred emission reduction results to Vietnam to contribute to the NDC according to the commitment in ERPA and the provisions of Decree No. 107/2022/ND-CP.

Previously, the WB sent a letter to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development confirming the emission reduction results in the North Central region from 2018 to 2019, reaching 16.21 million tons of CO2. Of which, the amount transferred to the WB under ERPA was 10.3 million tons of CO2.

According to the signed ERPA, the WB has the right to purchase an additional maximum of 5 million tons of CO2, for USD 5 per ton, about 95% of the transfer results are transferred back to Vietnam to contribute to the NDC.

Currently, the WB proposes to purchase an additional 1 million tons of CO2 from the emission reduction results of the North Central region from 2018 to 2019. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has reported to the Prime Minister, proposing a plan to transfer an additional 1 million tons of CO2 to the WB according to the signed ERPA; at the same time, proposing to handle 4.91 million tons of CO2 from the period of 2018-2019 in previously sent documents.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has also consulted with ministries and People's Committees of 6 provinces in the North Central region on the plan to transfer 1 million tons of CO2 to the WB and proposed to handle the remaining amount of carbon.

Regarding the transfer of an additional 1 million tons of CO2 to the WB within the maximum additional volume of 5 million tons of CO2 according to the signed ERPA, the Government has assigned the authority to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to represent the Government of Vietnam and forest owners in 6 provinces in the North Central region to transfer to the WB during the implementation of the ERPA.

On the other hand, the results of this transferred emission reduction are the results created in the past (2018-2019 period), so it is very difficult to find other partners to carry out exchange and trade, and it will lose value over time. Meanwhile, the domestic carbon market will be established and officially operated in 2028.

Therefore, to continue mobilizing additional resources for forest protection and development, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development proposes and recommends that the Prime Minister allow the Ministry to transfer an additional 1 million tons of CO2 to the World Bank.

For the remaining 4.91 million tons of CO2 from the emission reduction, the World Bank does not propose to buy more. Therefore, Vietnam has the right to transfer to other potential partners.

However, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has not yet received proposals from domestic and foreign organizations and partners to exchange and transfer this emission reduction. Accordingly, Vietnam can use this remaining emission reduction to contribute to the national NDC.

In case there are organizations and partners interested in and proposing to exchange or transfer, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will study and propose a plan to manage and use this revenue source, seek opinions from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the 6 North Central provinces, then report to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision to ensure that it does not affect the results of the contribution to the NDC.

In case there is no agreement from the Prime Minister on the transfer of the remaining emission reduction of the North Central region in the period of 2018-2019 (including 1 million tons of CO2 as proposed by the WB and the remaining 4.91 million tons of CO2), the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development proposes to allow the Ministry to send a letter to the WB regarding the non-transfer of an additional 1 million tons of CO2.

When the assessment results and summary of the implementation of Decree No. 107/2022/ND-CP are available, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will propose a management and use plan for the remaining emission reductions to report to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

Experts say that Vietnam is one of the countries with rich forest potential, with more than 14.7 million hectares, reaching a coverage rate of over 42%. The WB highly appreciates the transfer of Vietnam's carbon credits.

Starting from February 2020, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the WB signed the "Agreement on Emission Reduction in the North Central Region" for 2018-2024 period. The North Central region includes 6 provinces of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien Hue, with more than 3.1 million hectares of forested land with a coverage rate of 57.4% (accounting for more than 21.2% of the country's forest area).