The event welcomed nearly 200 participants, including leaders from the Department of Climate Change and representatives from key departments responsible for carbon market management under the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, alongside international organizations, investment funds, banks, consulting service providers, industry associations, and businesses interested in joining the carbon market.
Vietnam is currently making strong strides in fulfilling its international climate commitments, particularly the goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. Developing and establishing a carbon market is a strategic move towards this objective.
According to Decision No. 232/QD-TTg issued by the Prime Minister on January 24, 2025, regarding the establishment of Vietnam’s carbon market, the roadmap is divided into three phases: by June 2025, development of the legal framework and technical infrastructure; from June 2025 to the end of 2028, pilot operation; and from 2029, the full-scale national operation of the carbon market.
During the discussion session, with over 10 questions mainly from the private sector, Dr. Tang The Cuong, Director General of the Department of Climate Change (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment), shared important additional insights related to the Forum’s theme.
According to Dr. Cuong, Vietnam’s carbon market policy framework is still being finalized. Decree No. 06/2022/ND-CP is currently being revised and supplemented to include more detailed regulations, aiming not only at large enterprises but also expanding participation opportunities to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The goal is to encourage broad participation, laying the foundation for the official launch of the carbon market in 2029 and contributing to achieving the Net Zero goal by 2050.
He also emphasized the necessity of establishing a clear financial mechanism and promoting the participation of financial institutions and banks in the carbon market. This would facilitate enterprises and projects in making payments, trading, and exchanging carbon credits, while simultaneously stimulating investment and business activities in this field.
A particularly practical initiative proposed by Dr. Cuong was the development of a "Carbon Market Handbook" for businesses, especially in the voluntary carbon market. This handbook would provide information from basic to advanced levels, helping businesses — regardless of size — to easily access and participate in the carbon market, thereby expanding awareness and spreading essential knowledge within the business community.
The Forum also featured real-world insights shared by pioneering businesses engaged in carbon credit trading in Vietnam. Ms. Vo Hoang Nga, ESG Director of TTC Agris, presented the company's practical experiences in participating in the voluntary carbon market through the Verra mechanism — one of the leading global voluntary carbon credit standards.
According to Ms. Nga, implementing carbon credit projects not only helped TTC Agris significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions through a circular agriculture model but also created stable income sources for local communities. This model combines controlled crop cultivation and animal husbandry, minimizing pollution from spontaneous agricultural activities. TTC Agris is now considered a prime example for circular agriculture projects in Vietnam aiming to participate in the voluntary carbon credit trading market. Ms. Nga also offered recommendations to regulatory authorities to establish a more favorable exchange market for Vietnamese businesses operating in accordance with international voluntary carbon standards.
Representatives from KLINOVA, including CEO Dr. Phuong Nam NGUYEN, also participated in the forum. During the discussion session, Dr. Nam addressed a question to Ms. Sibylle Bachmann, Head of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Embassy of Switzerland in Vietnam, regarding the bilateral cooperation roadmap between the two countries in developing the carbon market. In response to KLINOVA’s question, Ms. Bachmann shared insights about the cooperation framework between the Vietnamese and Swiss governments, emphasizing the mechanisms for collaboration under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. This aims to promote carbon credit exchange between Swiss and Vietnamese firms, building on successful carbon credit projects between Switzerland and Southeast Asia. The target is a 45% reduction in emissions by 2030 and achieving NetZero by 2050, as set by the Swiss government. The Swiss government looks forward to specific and detailed collaborations with the Vietnam Directorate of Climate Change, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, especially between now and 2026.
Dr. Nam Nguyen, CEO of KLINOVA, sharing important insights during the Forum
Additionally, Dr. Nam engaged in side discussions with Ms. Elvira Morella, National and Regional Economic Advisor for East Asia and Pacific at IFC, and Ms. Pham Lien Anh, Head of Consulting and Economic Research at IFC. He expressed that IFC’s survey on the readiness of the private sector in Vietnam for developing mitigation projects and creating carbon credits under the voluntary carbon market (VCM) was very timely and appropriate at this stage, ahead of Vietnam’s mandatory carbon market pilot starting in June 2025. The recommendations for the voluntary carbon market (VCM) in Vietnam included: (1) Establishing clear policies and a legal framework to facilitate carbon trading in the VCM and under Article 6 mechanisms; (2) Developing an ecosystem that supports the effective operation of the VCM; (3) Building a robust MRV system and developing standardized baselines for projects; and (4) Creating exemplary models to demonstrate the benefits of participation in the VCM.
From the perspective of a consultancy firm supporting businesses in developing carbon credit projects in Vietnam, Dr. Nam supported some of the recommendations made by companies like TTC Agris. He highlighted that Vietnamese law needs a clearer and more transparent policy and guidance system to allow more companies like TTC Agris and Husk Vietnam to engage in the voluntary carbon market. Additionally, regulatory bodies must swiftly establish domestic carbon credit standards, ideally aligned with international carbon credit standards, to mitigate risks in international trading of these new commodities. This, in turn, would protect the legitimate interests of pioneering businesses investing in emission reduction projects and the creation of these new commodities.
The Vietnam Carbon Market Forum 2025 has significantly contributed to providing in-depth, updated information on mechanisms, policies, and the operational roadmap for the carbon market. It helped the private sector better prepare for market participation while offering government authorities an opportunity to capture real-world needs, improve policies, and ensure effective implementation of the carbon market in Vietnam.
