The Southeast Asia Energy Transition Partnership (ETP) organised the training course to improve the awareness of state management agencies and the business community.

The course was a part of an ETS piloting and simulation scheme in Vietnam supporting the Department of Climate Change and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. The aim is to promote the development of the carbon market in Vietnam before setting up a domestic carbon market and a carbon exchange, which will be piloted in 2025 and operational in 2028. Participants included ministries and agencies related to the establishment and management of carbon exchange platforms and carbon markets in Vietnam, as well as research institutes, universities, financial institutions, media representatives, and large emitters that will be covered under Vietnam's ETS in the future.

During the course, experts clarified a roadmap for the development of the national carbon market, the working principles and key design elements of the ETS, market oversight, and what enterprises should prepare to participate in the carbon markets. Participants were granted certificates upon completion of the course.

In addition, domestic and international experts introduced 'carbonsim' and guided participants to run a demo simulation using the CarbonSim tool.

“If we want to pilot ETS in 2025 as the government plans, we need more training for relevant stakeholders so they can develop and implement emissions trading as a cost-effective policy to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and enable the establishment of trading systems,” said Josh Margolis, an environmental markets expert and carbonsim administrator.

“There are various forms of training and capacity building that can provide comprehensive, in-depth knowledge of the design and implementation of the ETS, such as the carbon market simulations which are useful tools to assist policymakers and businesses to understand the system's mechanics,” Margolis said.

"The lectures are designed and presented by international experts in climate change mitigation and carbon pricing. This training initiative takes place at a critical period for Vietnam as it is committed to reducing GHG emissions in accordance with its obligations in the Paris Agreement," said Dang Hong Hanh, co-founder of Energy and Environment Consultancy.

Fritzie Vergel, a representative of the ETP, said this was the first ETS and carbon market training course ever held in Vietnam with the full participation of stakeholders from the public and private sectors.

"Building an effective emissions quota trading system in Vietnam will play a key role in achieving emissions' reduction targets. By placing a cap on total emissions and allowing businesses to trade emissions quotas, the ETS creates economic incentives for businesses to find solutions to reduce GHG emissions. In addition, revenue from quota auctions can be reinvested in climate-related projects, further supporting the country's efforts to reduce emissions," said Vergel.