(VEN) – European businesses have demonstrated that promoting green growth is a suitable, effective and economical way to achieve sustainable growth, stability and minimize adverse impacts on the environment.
Urban development must be combined with environmental protection
Big pressure
Statistics show that urban residents currently account for about 34 percent of Vietnam’s population. This is predicted to increase to 45 percent by 2020 and 60 percent by 2030. As a result of urbanization, 3.4 percent per annum, more than one million people move to urban areas each year. Urban population growth is posing a major challenge in terms of urban infrastructure. Environmental problems such as polluted air have deeply affected the lives of urban residents.
Karl Falkenberg, Director General for Environment at the European Commission, said, “Now, as Vietnam and Asian countries are developing to escape hunger and poverty, consumer demand is growing, creating a huge amount of waste. Therefore, along with promoting economic development, we will have to concentrate more on sustainable factors.”
However, according to Preben Hjortlund, Chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham), the biggest green growth challenge facing the country is a mental shift of policy makers, producers and consumers. The Vietnamese government must take firm steps to direct people’s thoughts toward green growth and long-term cooperation instead of single-mindedly running after high profits in the short term.
In fact, businesses very much want to achieve a symbiosis between economic development and environmental protection but conflicting pressures in terms of revenue, product quality, and competition are getting in the way.
Therefore, to encourage businesses to take a sustainable path, the government needs appropriate policies such as lower taxes and to effect incentives, creating favorable conditions for them to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) in sustainable, environmentally friendly directions. The reality is that although the government has implemented several mechanisms to encourage businesses to apply advanced technology and green production methods, most FDI businesses expect more preferential policies that give them peace of mind and demonstrate a focus on their long-term operations in Vietnam.
| On September 19, the Eurocham, in association with the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), organized an exhibition of European green business solutions in Vietnam (Green-Biz). The event attracted the participation of 70 European businesses. |
Preben Hjortlund emphasized, “Vietnam has advantages to develop wind power and solar energy. Therefore, it must choose suitable partners to transfer technology and help it improve management capabilities in order to create high quality products which can penetrate large markets like the EU.”
Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Cam Tu said that to achieve green growth goals, along with promoting economic development, the Vietnamese government must pay more attention to developing sectors where natural resources can be effectively utilized to create high added value, encourage the use of cleaner technologies, increase productivity and improve product quality, and create more jobs in green industries.
By Nguyen Huong
Đăng ký: VietNam News
