Using energy economically and efficiently is a practical solution to help ensure national energy security, develop the economy, protect the environment and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Trinh Quoc Vu, Deputy Director of the Department of Energy Saving and Sustainable Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) said on May 5.

He made the statement at the launch of the Vietnam scaling up energy efficiency project which aims to encourage the business community to change technology towards economical and efficient use of energy in the industrial sector.

Surveys of the National Programme on Economical and Efficient Use of Energy for the 2019 - 2030 period (VNEEP3) showed that Vietnam’s energy use can be cut by 20-30 percent, he said, adding that the industrial sector accounts for more than 47 percent of the country’s total energy consumption.

The project is expected to contribute to promoting industrial enterprises to pursue the goals of saving energy, ensuring national energy security, as well as accompanying the Government in implementing the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and responding to climate change, Vu said.

Chu Ba Thi, a representative from the World Bank (WB), said the project, with total investment capital of 11.3 million USD, will be carried out from March until January 2026.

Once joining the programme, industrial enterprises have chance to apply advanced technologies to reduce production costs and energy consumption, thereby enhancing their overall competitiveness in domestic and international markets.

He also said that the WB is committed to continuing to assist Vietnam to improve the quality of energy use through a series of programmes and projects that have been put into operation in the coming time.

Earlier in March, the WB, acting on behalf of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), signed a 11.3-million-USD grant with the State Bank of Vietnam to support the development of a commercial financing market for industrial energy efficiency investments.

Some 8.3 million USD from the grant will be used to build capacities for the private sector to identify, appraise and execute energy efficiency projects. It will also provide technical assistance to the MoIT and relevant authorities to strengthen policy frameworks and regulations and create an enabling environment to accelerate the energy efficiency market in Vietnam.

The remaining grant funds and the guarantee will be used to establish a risk sharing facility to provide partial credit guarantees to support local banks that may risk potential defaults on loans for energy efficiency projects./.