Policy Reform in Vietnam: Clean Air Legislation and Decree on Air Pollution Charges

Abstract:

Economic instruments in environmental protection are well-known and have been introduced successfully in a large number of countries. In Vietnam, policies related to mitigation of air pollution have been developed over the last two years by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy (MONRE) within the frame of the Swiss-Vietnamese Clean Air Program, a project under a bilateral agreement of the two governments. This new clean air legislation and decree focuses on pollution charges for industry, transport as well as other forms of economic incentives. It is an important element in the implementation of the “National Strategy for Environmental Protection 2010” approved by the Vietnamese Government in 2003. It is expected that the effective implementation of pollution charges will induce a shift from dirtier to cleaner fuels and reduce the energy use in industry. This will not only result in the reduction of air pollution in and around major cities in Vietnam, but also reduce associated health risks, reduce green house gas (GHG) emissions and last but not least reduce cost for industry in the long run.

The methodology, the levied pollutants, the fee rates, the collection mechanism and the allocation of the collected fees are going to be presented.