The expenditure for environmental protection amounted to VND72.42 trillion in 2013-2018, or VND14.5 trillion annually. However, the use of budgets in some units has been scattered, ineffective and sometimes not for the purpose of environmental protection, heard attendees at a workshop on green fiscal reform in Hanoi on October 25.

A worker is seen with hospital waste bins in this file photo. The expenditure for environmental protection amounted to VND72.42 trillion in 2013-2018, or VND14.5 trillion annually 

Dr. Le Thi Thuy Van, head of the Department of Science Management and International Cooperation, Financial Strategy and Policy Institute under the umbrella of the Ministry of Finance, said annual State budget allocations for environmental activities amounted to more than 1% of total expenditures in the State budget expenditure estimate.

"The total State budget for environmental protection tasks in the 2013-2018 period is VND72.42 trillion. Of which, the central budget is VND10 trillion, and the local budget is VND62.42 trillion," Van said.

She pointed out that the government has used central and local budgets as well as official development assistance resources to invest in programs and projects related to green growth.

Accordingly, the Government spent VND930 billion executing the National Target Program on Energy Efficiency and Conservation, 2012-2015; VND49.32 trillion on the Forest Protection and Development Plan 2011-2020; VND5.86 quadrillion on the National Target Program to overcome pollution and improve the environment in the 2013-2015 period; and VND1.77 trillion on executing the National Target Program on climate change.

Green growth is a way to achieve economic development while preserving the environment, preventing the loss of biodiversity and minimizing the unsustainable use of natural resources, according to the Organization for Economic and Cooperation Development.

In Vietnam, the National Green Growth Strategy for 2011-2020 and the Vision toward 2050 identified green growth as an important component of sustainable development, ensuring fast, sustainable and effective growth and making an important contribution to the execution of the national strategy on climate change. Therefore, the State budget spending policy is focused on national target programs related to environmental protection.

However, Van acknowledged that budget spending among some budget-using units was scattered, ineffective and misused for other purposes, such as the allocation of environmental investigative tasks and surveys. Besides this, Vietnam has not paid much attention to the allocation of funds for the improvement of the criteria and technical standards on environmental protection.

Meanwhile, private-sector investment in environmental protection is low, so the State budget is still the main source of funding. Even in some localities subject to budget constraints, the relevant parties still propose the central Government supplement the budget for environmental pollution treatment.

Restructuring State budget expenditure in the direction of green finance to ensure the performance of economic and social development tasks is one of the important tasks of the Financial Strategy up to 2020.

However, with the current fiscal situation, Van said it is necessary to integrate solutions and policies on green finance, promoting environmental protection and responding to climate change in the process of building strategies and plans for medium and long-term development in the financial industry in the near future.

Moreover, it is necessary to continue studying, amending and supplementing the tax policy related to environmental protection to have a better impact on the awareness and behavior of enterprises and people when producing and using goods that harm the environment.

Last but not least, it is necessary to diversify domestic and foreign capital sources through the investment activities of enterprises in various economic sectors, mobilizing financial resources through financial institutions, the commercial banking system, the stock market through the carbon market and green bonds and strengthening public-private partnerships to better support green growth.

SGT