Viet Nam Action Plan for Methane Emissions Reduction by 2030

Following its endorsement of the Global Methane Pledge (GMP), Viet Nam submitted its Methane Action Plan 2030 (the "Plan"), which outlines the country's methane reduction strategies. The Plan aims to reduce overall methane emissions in the following sectors: cultivation, animal husbandry, solid waste management, wastewater treatment, oil and gas extraction, coal mining and fossil fuel consumption. The Plan sets specific targets as follows:

• reduce overall methane emissions by at least 13.34% below 2020 levels by 2025, specifically limiting methane emissions to 42.2 metric tonnes from cultivation, 16.8 metric tonnes from animal husbandry, 21.9 metric tonnes from solid waste management and wastewater treatment, 10.6 metric tonnes from oil and gas extraction, 3.5 metric tonnes from coal mining, and 1.3 metric tonnes from fossil fuel consumption; and
• reduce overall emissions by at least 30% below 2020 levels by 2030, specifically limiting methane emissions to 30.7 metric tonnes from cultivation, 15.2 metric tonnes from animal husbandry, 17.5 metric tonnes from solid waste management and wastewater treatment, 8.1 metric tonnes from oil and gas extraction, 2.0 metric tonnes from coal mining, and 0.8 metric tonnes from fossil fuel consumption.

The Plan lists the following tasks for the government to push forward: 

1. Formulate and revise regulations, policies and mechanisms to mitigate overall methane emissions. It will create and implement a detailed plan of action for its targets according to methane inventories and guidelines of the IPCC. It will also formulate financial instruments to incentivise deployment of technologies to capture and use methane. Lastly, it will encourage renewable energy through regulation.
2. Implement measures for reducing methane emissions from agriculture. It will invest in irrigation works and develop farming processes that would adjust the crop structure and techniques according to local conditions to improve efficiency. The government will limit agricultural waste and by-products by developing a biogas model, applying technologies to produce organic fertilisers using waste from husbandry, and recovering and utilising methane emissions generated from breeding waste treatment for livestock breeding and electricity generation.
3. Implement measures for reducing methane emissions from solid waste management and wastewater treatment. The government will apply advanced technological processes to the treatment and reuse of solid and wastewater for methane recovery.
4. Implement measures for reducing methane emissions from oil and gas extraction and processing, coal mining and fossil fuel consumption. The government will formulate and promulgate mechanisms and policies for encouraging activities to collect associated gas from oil extraction operations, invest in installation of leak detection equipment and adopt drilling solutions for methane drainage and recovery before and during underground coal mining operations.
5. Step up research and development. It will organise research activities and apply for transfer of advanced technologies.
6. Disseminate information and increase capacity. The government will formulate and implement plans to educate enterprises and communities on their responsibilities and the benefits of methane emissions reduction and establish a system for knowledge sharing.
7. Intensify international cooperation. Viet Nam will endorse the GMP and join other bilateral and multilateral initiatives on methane emissions reductions.
8. Measure, report, and verify methane emissions reductions. The government will carry out annual assessment of methane emissions in conformity with the GMP.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and Ministry of Science and Technology will lead and implement the parts of the plan relevant to their mandates. Other ministries will cooperate, including the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance.

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