On October 31, the 9th meeting of the Joint Committee for the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) between Viet Nam and Japan took place at the headquarters of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Le Cong Thanh and Deputy Ambassador of the Embassy of Japan in Vietnam Ishikawa Isamu co-chaired the meeting.
At the meeting, the Committee agreed to issue carbon credits for nine JCM projects registered for implementation in the 2013-2020 period, and discussed the implementation of the JCM Mechanism in the 2021-2030 period.
Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Le Cong Thanh speaks at the meeting
Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Le Cong Thanh said: Viet Nam and Japan signed the JCM implementation agreement in 2013, extended in 2017 with an implementation period until the end of 2020. In the past, the Joint Committee has approved 15 methodologies. 14 JCM projects have been registered in Viet Nam, of which 8 projects have been granted a total of 4,115 credits. To continue implementing the JCM in the next phase, the Governments of Viet Nam and Japan have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation on low-carbon growth in 2021.
Like Japan, Viet Nam has committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and has seriously implemented this commitment. Regulations on greenhouse gas emission reduction have been included in the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 and will take effect from 2021. Viet Nam is also developing a carbon market development project and will pilot it from 2025 and officially operate from 2028. "Viet Nam already has a legal framework for carbon credits, and the pilots and experiments in the JCM mechanism have been regulated by law. The next step is to complete the legal basis so that the JCM mechanism can operate effectively in accordance with current law provisions," Deputy Minister Le Cong Thanh emphasized.
Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Ambassador Ishikawa Isamu said that the JCM mechanism is consistent with the framework of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and can contribute positively to the implementation of the emission reduction target under the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) of Viet Nam and Japan. The Japanese side wishes to continue cooperating with Viet Nam to develop the JCM mechanism, while accelerating the approval of registered projects. This is also an opportunity to strongly promote cooperation between the two countries, continuing the good relationship towards the Net Zero target.
Deputy Ambassador, Embassy of Japan in Vietnam Ishikawa Isamu speaking at the meeting
At the meeting, the Joint Committee agreed to issue carbon credits for 9 projects registered for the implementation in the period 2013 – 2020.
According to a representative of the Japanese Ministry of Environment, the credits granted to these projects are based on emission reduction results before 2021, so they will not affect Vietnam's mandatory emission reduction target for the 2021-2030 period under the Paris Agreement.
Also at the meeting, representatives of the Joint Committee from Viet Nam and Japan proposed the contents of implementing the JCM Mechanism in the coming time.
According to Mr. Tang The Cuong, Director General of the Department of Climate Change (Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment), in order to have a solid basis for the transfer of carbon credits from Viet Nam to the international market for use in the NDC targets of partner countries as required by the Paris Agreement, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has proposed regulations on the issuance of Letters of Acceptance for the international transfer of carbon credits and greenhouse gas emission reduction results in the draft Decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 06/2022/ND-CP. Accordingly, bilateral and multilateral cooperation agreements between the Government of Viet Nam and partner countries need to be signed in accordance with the Law on International Treaties. Meanwhile, the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2021 on low-carbon growth between Viet Nam and Japan is not an international treaty.
In order for the implementation of the JCM Mechanism for the period from now to 2030 to be consistent with the provisions of the Paris Agreement on climate change and to ensure compliance with the regulations of both countries, the Department of Climate Change proposed that it is necessary to sign a cooperation agreement to implement the JCM Mechanism according to the Law on International Treaties to have a basis for implementation. Agreeing with this view, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice said that many contents previously agreed upon by the two sides are no longer suitable for the current period and need to be renegotiated. This will create better conditions for the formation and exchange, purchase and sale of carbon credits from the JCM Mechanism in the future.
Regarding the carbon credit allocation rate from projects under the JCM mechanism in the period of 2021 - 2030, representatives of the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Industry and Trade, and Ministry of Transport suggested that the Joint Committee consider, in addition to financial contributions, additional factors related to resources in Vietnam for project implementation should be calculated, and take into account the specific characteristics of each project in specific sectors and fields.
At the meeting, representatives of the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan also shared about programs to enhance cooperation support for countries participating in the JCM mechanism, focusing on capacity building, project development, project implementation and monitoring and evaluation of emission reduction; the implementation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement in Japan and the potential of the JCM Mechanism in implementing Article 6. Along with renewable energy projects, Japan will also expand implementation in the fields of agriculture, forest development, refrigerant recovery and disposal, etc.
Deputy Minister Le Cong Thanh welcomed the proposals from Japan and said that the expansion of the areas of implementation under the JCM Mechanism is suitable for the areas that the Vietnamese Government is very interested in. Viet Nam will continue to learn from Japan's experience and expects that the support from the JCM Mechanism will bring about even better results.
Deputy Ambassador Ishikawa Isamu expressed that Japan wishes to use the JCM to achieve the goal of reducing emissions by 46% by 2030, towards Net zero by 2050. Based on cooperation between the two countries, JCM projects can make positive contributions to the socio-economic development of Viet Nam. According to the plan, the signing ceremony of the Cooperation Agreement on the implementation of the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) between the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam and Japan is expected to take place in June 2025 in accordance with the provisions of the Law on International Treaties.