To keep global temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius and achieve sustainable development goals, it is necessary to mobilize about 2.4 trillion USD.
On the afternoon of April 16, in Hanoi, General Secretary To Lam and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended and delivered opening remarks at the 4th Partnership for Green Growth and the Global Goals (P4G) Summit .
Vietnam is one of the 7 founding members and official partners of P4G. This is the 4th time the Conference has been held and the first multilateral Green Growth Summit hosted by Vietnam.
About 1,000 delegates from more than 40 countries around the world, including leaders of P4G member countries, partners, businesses, and experts attended the opening event on the afternoon of April 16. At the event, delegates highly appreciated Vietnam’s hosting of the P4G Summit this year, and also appreciated the international commitments that Vietnam has been making on climate change, green growth, sustainable development, and the goal of net zero emissions by 2050 .
Delivering a policy message at the Conference, General Secretary To Lam emphasized that with 40 years of innovation experience, Vietnam determined that the path to realizing green growth goals must ensure the principles of “sustainability, inclusiveness, and harmony”, including: Rapid development must go hand in hand with sustainability and high quality; National development must go hand in hand with international responsibility and international cooperation on the principle of “win-win”. The development process must take people as the center, goal, and driving force of all policies and strategies.
General Secretary To Lam emphasized: Vietnam is rapidly promoting strategic breakthroughs, making every effort to prepare for the development process that is both fast, green, inclusive and sustainable. We will strongly transform political commitments into practical actions, creating motivation for businesses and the whole society to participate in green economic development. In which, green institutions are the decisive foundation, green technology is the breakthrough force and green human resources play a key role.
In his opening remarks, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that green growth needs to ensure a comprehensive, global, inclusive approach for all people, “leaving no one behind”, especially disadvantaged and vulnerable groups in the green transition process . Participating, contributing and enjoying the fruits of the green transition process is both the responsibility and the right of all nations and peoples in the spirit of “working together, winning together, enjoying together and developing together”.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized: Vietnam warmly welcomes P4G for its correct approach to promoting green transformation, starting with specific, effective, widespread projects that create momentum and inspiration for green development. We call on P4G to continue to further promote its position, potential and strengths, truly becoming an “idea incubator” and an international “laboratory” for sustainable development and green growth.
Strong and urgent messages calling for cooperation, investment and joint action towards the goal of sustainable and inclusive green transformation were delivered by leaders of countries and international experts at today’s opening session.
“We are working to realize the vision of a green economy through practical policies such as the 40 billion tree initiative, developing renewable energy with 98% of electricity coming from hydropower. Finance must be the foundation for climate action, and Africa – with its large forest reserves and high carbon absorption capacity – needs equitable access to global resources,” said Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali.
Ms. Amina J. Mohammed – Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations said: “To keep global temperature from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius and to achieve sustainable development goals, it is necessary to mobilize about 2.4 trillion USD each year for developing economies. Those resources are present in the world, but accessing them equitably is a challenge we must overcome together”.
Delegates also expect the Conference to create new momentum to promote cooperation between P4G and partners, between countries in the Northern and Southern hemispheres, and between the public and private sectors to promote the flow of green capital, serving the goal of sustainable development.
The international community highly appreciates Vietnam’s green transformation efforts.
Since its first event in Denmark, the P4G Summit has proven its influence, as the public and private sectors discussed and proposed breakthrough solutions for green growth.
Within the framework of the Conference, many discussion sessions and policy forums were held. Speakers highly appreciated Vietnam for having practical policies to realize its commitments on green growth.
Ms. Robyn Mcguckin – CEO of P4G said: “I would like to congratulate the Vietnamese Government for its outstanding efforts in building green growth policies. At this conference, we witnessed Vietnamese climate change startups operating very well in the domestic market, but are also connecting globally thanks to the support of the Government and platforms like P4G. In the coming time, P4G will continue to expand cooperation with Vietnam, support startups, build a green market map, and research digital tools and artificial intelligence to improve the effectiveness of innovation development”.
“Platforms like P4G are great opportunities for policy exchange, not only with Vietnam but also with countries around the world. The event helps parties share practices, shorten learning times, seek new solutions and form links between the public and private sectors. This is the only way to accelerate innovation and replicate effective models,” shared Dr. Malle Fofana – Regional Director for Asia, Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI).
“Advancing environmental technology solutions will require a three-way partnership between governments, businesses and financial institutions. This relationship varies greatly from country to country. That is why this forum is so important for us to build links between countries,” said Ani Dasgupta, President and CEO of the World Resources Institute.
Public-private partnership supports green businesses
Capital constraints are the biggest challenge businesses face when focusing on green transformation, according to a survey conducted by the Private Economic Development Research Board with nearly 3,000 businesses.
Capital for green businesses is difficult, capital for startups in this field is even more difficult. Because this field requires research and investment to find breakthrough solutions, requires large initial capital and a long payback period.
P4G is not only a forum for discussing policies and international experiences on green transformation, but also a bridge connecting businesses, investors and governments.
The evidence is that over $500 million has been raised over the past five years, helping to create thousands of jobs and support workers on their journey towards green, sustainable development. This is also the reason why many businesses from all over the world came to the P4G Summit this year.
After processing, leftover cooking oil can be turned into biofuel, an environmentally friendly fuel that reduces emissions by up to 90% compared to conventional fuel. This is the idea of Mr. Lee from Korea. He chose to start a business in Vietnam, not only because of the potential market but also because of the support from the Government.
Mr. Lee Chung Ho – General Director of ReFeed Company said: “In 2022, when I was still studying at Harvard University, I listened to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s speech here. I felt very touched and inspired, so I decided to start a business in Vietnam. We received a lot of support from local authorities. They helped us communicate to people the harmful effects of excess oil, to collect and recycle excess oil”.
Coming from South Africa, the young people brought the idea of an application that notifies about water incidents and problems. The project’s goal is to help deal with water loss, especially in countries like India and South Africa.
“We hope to bring this idea to the global public. Currently, we are looking for funding sources to support research, product development and pilot program implementation,” said Ms. Lauren Louw – Co-founder of the Drip Detect project.
Since its first event in 2018, many businesses, especially green growth startups from all over the world, have received support from P4G’s connections and partners.
Mr. Ho Viet Hai – Co-founder and General Director of Alterno Climate Change Technology Company said: “To date, we have called for more than 1 million USD in investment capital from funds. We have received more than 550,000 USD in funding, especially the 350,000 USD package from P4G, which is a valuable package for Alterno’s early stage development.”
“It is very useful for startups like us. This capital helps us develop R&D, increase product competitiveness. Second, it helps us develop the market and raise awareness of B2B companies,” said Ms. Tran Thanh Thao – Strategy Director of AirX Carbon Company.
With support from P4G, startups not only have more capital, but are also connected to larger investment funds around the world, and are trained and guided by reputable P4G partners.
A green economy needs green businesses. A green society needs green citizens. A green world needs green nations. Multilateral cooperation and public-private partnerships will be the driving force for the global economy to move quickly towards climate change goals.
The P4G Summit will continue with five ministerial-level discussions on finance, human resources, and technology to promote green growth. In particular, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will chair a dialogue between leaders and businesses.