VIETNAM Trends and Developments Contributed by: Justin Gisz, Minh Duong and Phong Nguyen, Asia Counsel Vietnam Law Company Limited
119”). This decree introduces key changes to acceler - ate emission reduction efforts and establish a robust domestic carbon market. Accelerated emissions reduction • Earlier roadmap: Decree 119 provides an acceler - ated roadmap for GHG emissions reduction, com - mencing in 2025, a year earlier than the current timeline. • Expanded reporting requirements: Facilities without allocated GHG quotas will be required to develop and implement emissions-reduction strategies and submit detailed GHG inventory reports every two years. Facilities with allocated quotas will adhere to specific reporting forms starting in 2025. • Targeted quota allocation: For the period from 2025 to 2026, the distribution of GHG quotas will priori - tise thermal power plants, steel production, and cement production facilities, focusing on sectors with significant emission footprints. From 2027 to 2030, central Ministries will propose and develop the list of facilities subject to GHG emission quota allocation and determine the corresponding quota volumes. Developing a domestic carbon market • Market participants: Decree 119 outlines that only facilities with allocated GHG quotas can participate in GHG emissions trading. However, foreign-invest - ed companies and domestic Vietnamese individu - als and organisations alike can engage in carbon credit exchanges. • Expedited timeline: Decree 119 provides an ambi - tious plan to launch a domestic carbon exchange by 2028, demonstrating Vietnam’s commitment to establishing a functional carbon market. From 2029, Vietnam will develop and implement a GHG emissions quota auction mechanism and complete the regulatory framework for managing carbon credits and the trading of GHG emission quotas and carbon credits. • National registration system: A National Registra - tion System will be established to manage and register GHG emission quotas and carbon credits, ensuring transparency and accountability in the carbon market.
Enhanced GHG inventory requirements Before Decree 119, the Prime Minister also issued Decision No 13/2024/QD-TTg, effective 1 October 2024, updating the list of sectors and sources required to conduct GHG inventories, expanding the scope to include 21 sectors representing 2,166 entities com - pared to the previous 1,912 entities. This reflects Viet - nam’s commitment to comprehensive monitoring and reporting of GHG emissions across various sectors. Technology Vietnam’s new Data Law: advancing digital transformation and governance Vietnam’s commitment to structural reform extends beyond traditional investment and regulatory sec - tors into the digital domain. The Law on Data (Law No 60/2024/QH15) passed by the National Assembly in November 2024 and entering into force on 1 July 2025 (the “Data Law”) marks a decisive step toward building a unified legal foundation for data governance and digital transformation in Vietnam. Before the Data Law, Vietnam’s data landscape was fragmented across almost 70 separate legislative instruments and more than 100 databases maintained by different Ministries and other government and regulatory agencies. The new Data Law consolidates this framework and provides a coherent structure gov - erning the development, management, sharing, and commercialisation of digital data. It also formally rec - ognises data as a national resource and a protected form of property, underscoring its strategic role in the country’s socio-economic development. The Data Law applies to both domestic and foreign organisations and individuals engaging in data-related activities in Vietnam. It establishes three main stake - holder groups – data owners, data custodians and data subjects – and classifies data into core, critical, and other categories, depending on its sensitivity and potential impact on national security and public inter - ests. It also introduces key State institutions, includ - ing the National Data Centre and National Integrated Database, both under the supervision of the Ministry of Public Security, to centralise and harmonise data collected from national and sectoral databases.
744 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook