Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Huynh Cach Mang said the Japanese city of Osaka boasts advanced technology and experience in addressing environmental issues and coping with climate change.
Via a low carbon emission city development scheme, Osaka has assisted Ho Chi Minh City in building an action plan in response to climate change for the 2017-2020 period with a vision to 2030, in particular offering technical support in building a forecasting model for greenhouse gas emission, he said.
Vice Mayor of Osaka city Seigo Tanaka said the project will help the two cities reduce carbon emission effectively, contributing to sustainable socio-economic development.
Akikazu Ikegami from Osaka’s Department of Environmental Engineering said the city has chosen Ho Chi Minh City for a joint credit mechanism with a view to reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from Japanese technology and promoting the use of non-fossil energy.
He added that Osaka will also install five sets of inverter worth 70 million JPY ($630,000) at Thu Duc water treatment plant, which will reduce 11,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.
According to him, the two cities have devised six relevant projects under the joint credit mechanism, including promoting the construction of green hospitals and energy saving at hotels, installing solar power systems at shopping malls.
Ha Minh Chau, deputy head of the hydrometeorology and climate change office from the municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said with the support of Osaka, Ho Chi Minh City can review greenhouse gas emission biennially; implement the Paris Agreement on Climate Change; build an action plan in response to climate change for the 2021-2025 period; and specify a solar power project at Binh Dien wholesale market.
Under the 2017-2020 action plan in response to climate change, Ho Chi Minh City and Osaka signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on bilateral cooperation in July 2011. In July 2013, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Vietnamese Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment signed an MoU on promoting low carbon emission.
In October 2013, Ho Chi Minh City and Osaka signed a cooperation agreement on developing cities with low carbon emission.
Between 2017 and 2020, Ho Chi Minh City is focusing its scientific studies on energy, transportation, industry, waste management, and agriculture towards achieving low carbon emission.
The municipal Department of Industry and Trade and the Department of Construction have developed renewable and clean energies such as solar, waste, and biogas-fuelled power. The use of renewable energies is expected to top 1.74 percent of the city’s total energy consumption till 2020.
