The conference, which took place in Da Nang City on 8 July 2023, provided a forum for experts, corporations and businesses to discuss and share information about green financing development and green economy to respond to climate change.

Attending the conference were Mr. Le Cong Thanh - Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), Mr. Tang The Cuong - Director of the MONRE Department of Climate Change, Mr. Phan Duc Tu - Chairman of the Board of Directors, BIDV, Mr. Le Ngoc Lam, CEO, BIDV. Speakers from Deloitte as well as chairmen, CEOs of leading corporations and enterprises in Vietnam were also in attendance.

Representatives of businesses and experts share information on building a green economy

According to reports at the conference, the world has entered a new era. Knowledge economy, green economy and circular economy have been a new development trend of many countries. Given the climate change and the new global context, environmental protection and response to climate change in Vietnam must move to a new stage, which should be placed at the center, towards implementing the global goals effectively, substantively and transparently to promote the green economy, circular economy.

Reaching “net zero” emissions by 2050 is the inevitable development goal of the world, and will be realized mainly through strong energy transition and low emission development. This is also a new "rule of the game" on global trade and investment that has been established since COP26. Therefore, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, energy transition from fossil fuels to clean and renewable energy is an opportunity to promote economic restructuring towards sustainability, to improve the competitiveness of the economy and to take advantage of opportunities for trade and investment cooperation for development. In order to realize the commitment of net zero by 2050 of the Government of Vietnam at COP26, relevant ministries and agencies in Vietnam have been developing and finalizing policies to promote and support investment, business and trade activities towards the above goal.

The conference also mentioned that the European Union and the United States have applied the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). Accordingly, goods imported into these markets will be subjected to the CBAM mechanism if there is no preparation to meet increasingly stringent green standards and greenhouse gas emission reduction.

At the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact held in France at the end of June 2023, international leaders agreed to a common understanding and a number of important contents on growth pattern transformation, international financial system reform and changing the business model of multilateral development banks, mobilizing the participation of the private sector to respond to global challenges. The conference mentioned the dual crises of the global environment and climate, posing urgent requirements for the transformation of a linear economic model, exploiting natural resources to a circular economy, green economy and digital economy.

Mr. Le Cong Thanh, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment speaks at the conference

Addressing the conference, Mr. Le Cong Thanh - Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment emphasized:

Businesses need to innovate their production and business models, restructure in association with sustainable development towards green economy, circular economy, keep innovating, building and enhancing the brand, corporate culture towards green and sustainable development. Given the stringent requirements of international markets, businesses need to update information and improve production processes, training and capacity building for staff to quickly respond to new trends and gain competitive advantages. Businesses also need to access and use green and sustainable financing for their production and business activities, save capital costs and achieve high efficiency.

Mr. Phan Duc Tu - Chairman of BIDV's Board of Directors affirms sustainable growth and green growth are the most important strategic goals in BIDV's operations. 

Mr. Phan Duc Tu - Chairman of BIDV's Board of Directors, said:

A leading state-owned commercial bank, BIDV is always a pioneer in implementing the Government's and State Bank’s policies and directions towards promoting green credit growth and green banking, ready to accompany the business community, contributing to the implementation of the national green transition strategy. Sustainable growth and green growth are the most important strategic goals in BIDV's operations.

At the conference, the BIDV leader committed to creating the most favorable conditions to advise and help customers access sustainable financial products. At the same time, BIDV is ready to act as a bridge between stakeholders, regulators, domestic and foreign financial organizations and businesses to connect cooperation opportunities in green growth, environmental protection and response to climate change, thereby contributing to develop and fine-tune the sustainable financial ecosystem in Vietnam.

At the panel discussion, experts from Deloitte Singapore and Vietnam updated important information about the overview of global sustainable development and response to climate change, further analyzing the context for practicing sustainable development and response to climate change in Vietnam, as well as sharing the roadmap towards net-zero emissions for businesses.

The information presented and discussed at the conference has clarified the importance of changing the green and sustainable mindset in businesses; supporting the development of business orientation of businesses in the time to come. From there, businesses will have an appropriate direction to join hands to promote the green and sustainable economy in Vietnam and more broadly in the region and the world.

The Prime Minister issued Decision No.1658/QD-TTg dated 1 October 2021 approving the National Green Growth Strategy for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050; Decision No. 896/QD-TTg dated 26 July 2022 approving the National Strategy on Climate Change to 2050; Decision No. 888/QD-TTg dated 25 July 2022 approving the Scheme on tasks and solutions to implement the outcomes of the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; Decision No. 1055/QD-TTg dated 20 July 2020 on the National Climate Change Adaptation Plan for the 2021 - 2030 period, with a vision to 2050. By the end of 2022, BIDV continued to lead the market in green financing with 1,718 projects, outstanding credit/guarantee amount reaching USD2.7 billion, accounting for 4.3% of BIDV's total outstanding loans and 13% of the total outstanding loans to the green sector of the whole economy. BIDV is currently the only domestic financial institution that has signed an MOU with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on promoting sustainable and green financing development, environmental protection and response to climate change. BIDV was the first domestic bank to issue the Environmental and Social Risk Management Framework in 2018 which is applicable to projects and customers receiving international funds, and at the same time, encouraged projects financed by BIDV to apply the framework. In February 2023, BIDV was the first bank to issue the Sustainable Loan Framework to provide green loans, social loans and sustainability-linked loans to domestic corporate customers. In May 2023, BIDV issued a Regulation on Environmental Risk Management in credit extension activities following the guidance of the State Bank in Circular No.17/2022… Building on the strong capacity and rich experiences, coupled with the companionship of the world's leading development financial institutions, BIDV ensures the ability to provide technical support according to international standards to project owners and businesses in sustainable finance and green finance.