On 12 March, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha and Deputy Minister Vo Tuan Nhan chaired an online meeting to review legal documents detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 (LEP 2020). Previously, the Vietnam Environment Administration (VEA) had created a plan for the review and development of legal documents to implement the LEP 2020, which shall be submitted to MONRE leaders for approval. The plan includes a list which specifies relevant agencies’ responsibilities on drafting legal and guiding documents.

According to the VEA, there  are total of 65 legal documents that need to be reviewed, including 26 Laws, 25 Decrees, one Prime Minister Decision, 11 Circulars and two Joint Circulars. The initial review results show that there are some inconsistencies in regard to some of the provisions for the legal documents, particularly relating to Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) or the Environmental Protection Plan, etc.

The revised Law on Environmental Protection was passed on 17 November 2020. It will take effect on 1 January 2022. The Law not only strengthens legal aspects in regard to environmental pollution and degradation, but overall pursues a green, low-carbon economy towards achieving the country’s 2030 sustainable development goals. It provides a legal basis to Vietnam’s commitments to greenhouse gas emission reductions under the Paris Agreement on climate change, and legalises an emission trading scheme. Also, it paves the way for the country to further tap its significant renewable energy potential, and to switch to a low-carbon development model in the post-COVID-19 recovery era.

The IKI-funded SIPA project has provided technical advice to MONRE for the revision of the Climate Change Chapter in the amended LEP, to better match requirements resulting from the international climate change framework (click here for further information).