The workshop is held by the Vietnamese Embassy in Germany and the Vietnamese Innovation Network in Europe (VINEU) in Berlin on March 31. (Photo: VNA)

Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, made the remark while attending a workshop in Berlin on Friday .

The event, held by the Vietnamese Embassy in Germany and the Vietnamese Innovation Network in Europe (VINEU), discussed the enhancement of cooperation under the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) framework towards net zero emissions in Vietnam by 2050. It was part of the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue Week 2023.

Expressing his impression of renewable energy development in Vietnam as he saw during a visit last September, Flasbarth held that with advantages for wind and solar energy, Vietnam will become a pioneer in energy transition in Southeast Asia. The Vietnamese Government has also proved its ambitious targets about mitigating climate change and reducing the dependence on thermal power plants to prepare for a clean energy system in the future.

In his speech, Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Vu Quang Minh said that at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in 2021, Vietnam made ambitious commitments, including becoming a carbon-neutral economy by 2050, only five years later than Germany. This is a very challenging target in terms of not only technology, economy, or finance but also social aspects connected with this major transition, including the rights and interests of all ethnic groups and the parties concerned, he said.

Therefore, Vietnam needs international partners’ cooperation and support to achieve this target, Minh noted, adding that its Ministry of Industry and Trade is also exerting efforts to complete the national electricity development planning for the 2021 - 2030 period, with a vision to 2050, that will gradually reduce the country’s dependence on fossil fuel sources and develop renewables such as hydropower, wind power, solar power, and biomass power to cut down greenhouse gas emissions.