Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has approved the Power Development Plan 8 (PDP8), which is part of the National Electricity Development Plan 2021-30, after two years of wrangling and revision.
The $135bn investment package, which aims to strengthen the country’s energy security and increase the share of renewable energy in energy mix, will favor renewables and gas power rather than coal.
Last December, G7 and other wealthier countries pledged $15.5 billion in initial funds to help Vietnam’s transition away from coal. The government estimates it needs up to $658 billion, of which one-fifth would have to be disbursed this decade, to complete its planned transition to carbon neutrality with total phase-out of coal by 2050.
