Coastal EZs are striving for low-carbon economy

The Vietnam Marine Strategy, released by the Party Central Committee in 2007, says that coastal EZs will make up 53-55 percent of the country's total GDP.

Coastal economic zones have been developing rapidly, forming important industry/agriculture/service centers. However, resources in coastal EZs are not being exploited in a sustainable way. 

Emissions increase

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT), 17 coastal EZs have been set up, attracting 254 foreign invested projects with total registered capital of $42 billion and 1,079 Vietnamese invested projects totaling VND805.2 trillion.

Vietnam expects to have one more coastal EZ – Ninh Co in Nam Dinh province in the future.

The EZs have been playing very important roles in the development of local economies. Forty percent of total land area in the EZ reserved for agriculture, industrial production, and tourism services are occupied. 

Huge investment projects include Dung Quat Oil Refinery and the Doosan Vietnam heavy industry complex in Dung Quat EZ, the Chu Lai – Truong Hai automobile – mechanical engineering complex in Chu Lai Open EZ, and the cement and thermopower plants in Nghi Son EZ.

According to the Coastal EZ Management Board, the total CO2 emissions from industrial and agricultural production and services in coastal economic zones in 2010 was 7.42 million tons, or 4.06 tons of CO2 per head. The emissions were mostly from thermal power plants.

It is expected that coastal EZs will have 39 thermal power plants by 2020.

Experts from the Department of Meteorology, Hydrology and Climate Change believe that in order to encourage technology reform, it is necessary to have a legal framework which ensures benefits of involved parties in exploiting and using natural resources, and to apply solutions to GHG designed for different business fields.

In power generation, for example, it is necessary to improve the boiler’s performance by upgrading equipment and technology, and improving the efficiency of the electrostatic precipitator system; use DO when starting up a furnace, and install a monitoring system to control emissions, temperature and pH level of the discharge water before it reaches the environment.

In animal husbandry, measures are needed to control waste and GHG, and the solutions to reduce GHG should be included in economic development programs. 

Scientists say that suitable feeding methods will limit nitrogen and phosphorus excretion into the environment (low carbon production). More electricity could also be produced from biogas energy.

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