- Late last year, G7 nations agreed to provide US$15.5 billion to help Vietnam ditch climate-heating coal.
- Vietnam’s Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) stressed the importance of regular consultations with media, civil society and NGOs.
Activists have said the multi-billion dollar climate deal to help Vietnam shift from coal to clean energy should be put on hold. According to them, this is until the government stops a crackdown on environmentalists, threatening efforts to support communities hit by the transition.
Late last year, G7 nations – together with Norway, Denmark and the European Union – agreed to provide US$15.5 billion to help Vietnam ditch climate-heating coal, similar to other pacts with South Africa, Indonesia and Senegal that offer emerging economies financing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Vietnam’s Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) stressed the importance of regular consultations with media, civil society and NGOs. But last month, Hanoi police detained Ngo Thi To Nhien, executive director of the Vietnam Initiative for Energy Transition, an independent think-tank focused on green energy policy, for “appropriating documents” regarding the state-owned electricity utility, according to media reports.
A senior advisor at US-based nonprofit International Rivers, Maureen Harris, told Context, “The detention of Nhien should give (donors) serious pause in proceeding with a deal under these conditions. Before proceeding further, financial backers and other stakeholders should ensure a strong rights-based safeguard policy – specific to JETPs – that includes clear provisions against reprisals and for protecting environmental defenders.”