Greening cities for a green economy in Vietnam: opportunities and challenges Dr Do Nam Thang Deputy Director General-International Cooperation Dept Vietnam Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

Contents Urbanization pressure How greening cities contribute to green economy? Opportunities to develop green cites Challenges

1.Urbanization pressure Population growth – Population: 90 mil, growth rate: 1.4 % – Uneven distribution: mostly in Red River Delta & Mekong River Delta (47%) Rapid urbanization – Number of towns: from 500 (1990) to 800 (2014)

Urban population trend

Consequences: – industrial facilities in residential areas – inadequate infrastructure – traffic congestion – poor sanitation

Increased transport vehicles Before: bicycle Now: motor bikes and cars

Increased no. of vehicles

2. Greening cities for green economy Green economy: an economy with low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive (UNEP 2010). Green cities or environmentally sustainable cities: clean air, clean water, clean land and climate resilient

Green cities would need: – Good urban planning – Sufficient investment in infrastructure: public transport, resource efficient buildings, water supply and sanitation – Proper municiple waste treatment – Green industry: resource efficient, environmentally friendly

How green cities contribute to green economy? Reducing GHG in developing process (low carbon development): at present, 70% GHG emission is from cities Reducing resource and energy consumption Promoting renewable energy Reducing damage and loss due to environmental degradation and climate change

How green cities contribute to green economy? Creating green jobs: in building retrofitting, environmental services, public transport Reducing poverty Improving human health and living standards

Greening cities: opportunities Initial policy framework: green growth strategy 2012, master program on developing urban areas to respond to climate change 2014 Ongoing ESC activities: – National: indicators, awarding scheme, ASEAN working group on ESC – Local: ESC community-based models, 100 Resilient Cities, City to city ESC exchange, Clean air cities initiative….

Greening cities: challenges Limited awareness at all levels (policymaking, public, business), mindsets of “mutually exclusive notions: development or environment” Low commitment from business and community Poor coordination among sectors, greening city activities

Potential research Underlying obstacles to awareness and behavior Costs and benefits of greening city policy options Impact of greening cities on economy wide