{"id":31482,"date":"2016-01-29T20:59:27","date_gmt":"2016-01-29T09:59:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nofibs.com.au\/?p=31482"},"modified":"2019-04-16T13:31:16","modified_gmt":"2019-04-16T03:31:16","slug":"vietnam-reviews-coal-expansion-in-wake-of-parisagreement-reports-takvera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/vietnam-reviews-coal-expansion-in-wake-of-parisagreement-reports-takvera\/","title":{"rendered":"Vietnam reviews #coal expansion in wake of #ParisAgreement reports @takvera"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo:<\/a>

Photo: Coal stockpiled at a river wharf, Viet Nam, Ngh\u1ec7 An, Ho\u00e0ng Mai. garycycles\/flickr CC-by-2.0<\/p><\/div>\n

\nIn the wake of the Paris agreement, Vietnam has announced a review of all it’s new coal power stations in the planning pipeline and under contruction. Vietnam is currently the third largest builder of coal plants in the world.\n<\/p>\n

\nIn a statement<\/a> (vn) released on 19th January, Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung stated the government\u2019s intention to \u201creview development plans of all new coal plants and halt any new coal power development\u201d.\n<\/p>\n

\nIn addition, the Premier stated that Vietnam needs to \u201cresponsibly implement all international commitments in cutting down greenhouse gas emissions; and to accelerate investment in renewable energy.\u201d an implied reference to the Paris Agreement<\/a> from the UN Climate Change Conference in December 2015.\n<\/p>\n

\nUnder the Power Development Plan VII 44 gigawatts of new coal power generation was planned (the equivalent of 70 large coal plants) on top of 17 gigawatts presently under construction. At least some of the planned and in-construction coal projects will be converted to gas but some are also likely to go ahead.\n<\/p>\n

\nMeasures will also be taken to create better investment conditions for wind and solar, under the Prime Minister’s announcement.\n<\/p>\n

\nActivists were quick to endorse the change in moving Vietnam to a more sustainable development path, and a path that will limit health pollution impacts.\n<\/p>\n

\nA Press release dated 22 January by GreenID, a Hanoi-based non-profit group promoting sustainable energy in Vietnam, first alerted me to this bold news.\n<\/p>\n

\n“We welcome the Primer Minister\u2019s commitment to move the country away from coal. However we understand that the revised Power Development Planning VII, due to be released in the coming days, will still have a significant percentage of new coal plants,\u201d said Ms. Nguy Thi Khanh, Executive Director of GreenID, a Hanoi-based NGO working to promote sustainable energy in Vietnam in a media statement<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

\n“If the Prime Minister is serious about moving away from coal, we hope that the government will comprehensively reassess all proposed coal plants and put in place policies to rapidly accelerate the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency. In addition, all existing and new coal plants should be fitted with pollution controls and higher efficiency standards in line with international best practice,\u201d said Ms Khanh.\n<\/p>\n

\nCurrently, the electricity production is still dominated by hydropower with a share of 41% in electricity generation, followed by natural gas with 31% and coal with 26%.\n<\/p>\n

\nGreenpeace also commented with Arif Fiyanto, Greenpeace Southeast Asia Coal Campaigner, saying:\n<\/p>\n

\n“This huge win follows tireless work from environmental advocates highlighting the health and environmental impacts of the country\u2019s coal expansion plans. This is one of the biggest victories for environmental and climate advocates in Vietnam, and a crucial step for Southeast Asia where development plans have tended to rely heavily on coal,\u201d said Arif. \u201cVietnam\u2019s decision is the Paris Agreement in action, and with a clear steer towards renewable energy it sets the benchmark for countries across the region to follow.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nVietnam had one of the largest programs for coal-fired power station development in Southeast Asia. It now seems like this may be drastically scaled back under the new review announced by the Prime Minister.\n<\/p>\n

\n“Vietnam is playing its part in kicking our global addiction to coal. With Indian coal imports falling and China implementing a three-year ban on new coal mines, there is a definite sense that change is in the air in Asia,\u201d said Arif. “Driven by concerns from people more aware than ever of the health and environmental impacts of fossil fuels, we are on the cusp of an energy revolution. But it needs to move faster and policy announcement such as this are just the first step.”\n<\/p>\n

\nGreenpeace Southeast Asia last year worked with environmental groups, such as the Vietnam Sustainable Energy Alliance (VSEA), and researchers from Harvard University, to highlight the health impacts of the planned coal expansion. The groundbreaking study used modelling to show how existing coal plants in Vietnam cause an estimated 4,300 premature deaths every year, which would have risen to 25,000 premature deaths per year if the coal expansion plans were approved.\n<\/p>\n

\nFinancial analyst Tim Buckley commented, “It is encouraging to see the Vietnamese government\u2019s intention to transition its electricity markets consistent with the strategies currently being implemented by China and India. Energy security is one of the most pressing needs of any country and adding wind, solar and energy efficiency builds domestic energy security,\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nTim Buckley is Director of Energy Finance Studies, Australasia, at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThe structural decline of the seaborne thermal coal market is increasingly evident from the trends in China and India. The indication that one of the leading coal developers in Southeast Asia is going to retreat from new coal plants further signals the terminal decline of the global coal industry,\u201d Mr. Buckley concluded.\n<\/p>\n

\nNow what would be the implications for this reduced market for Australia’s coal producers?\n<\/p>\n

\nMaybe it is time Federal and state Government’s stopped approving new mines and paid more attention to international trends, climate policy and our international treaty commitments on greenhouse gas emissions.\n<\/p>\n

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