80 per cent of the US$51.5 million that Việt Nam has received as payment from the World Bank for verified emissions reductions – carbon credits – has been distributed to six north central provinces, according to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Development Trần Quang Bảo.

The remaining 20 per cent of the revenues for reducing 10.3 million tonnes of CO2 in the 2018-24 period will be distributed to the localities in the next 1-2 months.

Regarding benefit sharing which refers to how the value created from the sale of carbon credits is distributed, Bảo said that the Government issued a decree on piloting the transfer of emission reduction results and financial management of greenhouse gas emission reduction payment agreements in the north central region.

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Accordingly, only 0.5 per cent will be used to coordinate the general agreements and 3 per cent to perform measurement, control, supervision, training, and technical guidance. The remaining 96.5 per cent is allocated to targeted localities.

Based on the contracted forest area, the localities will allocate the above amount to people and communities that signed contracts to protect and manage the forests.

Presently, the agriculture ministry has issued a benefit-sharing plan and is organising training to distribute that benefit to localities. The main beneficiaries are communities, ethnic minorities, and forest keepers.

According to the Forestry Department, the Emission Reductions Payment Agreement (ERPA) in the north-central region was signed on October 22, 2020, between the agriculture ministry and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) under the World Bank Group as the Trustee of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF).

The ERPA aims at transferring reduced emissions of 10.3 million tonnes of CO2 in the northern part of the central region in 2018-2024 to the FCPF via the World Bank, with the unit price of $5 per tonne of CO2, worth $51.5 million in total.

About 95 per cent of the transferred results will be returned to Việt Nam to contribute to the national commitment to greenhouse gas emissions to obtain the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change approved at COP21.

According to the ministry, the World Bank has confirmed emission reductions of 16.21 million tonnes of CO2 (16.21 million carbon credits) in the north central region in the first period (from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2019), including the 10.3 million tonnes of CO2 transferred under ERPA. The World Bank agreed to buy 1 more million tonnes of the remaining 5.91 million tonnes.

The ministry reported to the Prime Minister about the remaining credits of 4.91 million tonnes of CO2 for consideration and decision. At the same time, it is continuing to coordinate with the World Bank to measure and confirm the amount of credits for Phase 2 (2020-22) and Phase 3 (2023-24). It is also looking for partners that have demand for the carbon credits to ensure national interests and mobilise additional resources for forest protection and development in the north central region.

According to the Forestry Department, Việt Nam has not had a mandatory market for carbon credits. The transfer of emission reduction results is carried out through bilateral agreements between relevant parties.

Regarding the forest carbon credit market, the Prime Minister has assigned the agriculture ministry to implement two agreements to transfer emissions reduction results including the ERPA in the north central region and another ERPA in the south central and Central Highlands regions.

In the ERPA in the south central and Central Highlands regions, Việt Nam transfers to LEAF/Emergent 5.15 million tonnes of CO2 to reduce emissions from forests in the regions in the 2022-2026 period.

LEAF/Emergent will pay for this service at a minimum price of $10 per tonne of CO2 with a total value of $51.5 million. The area of commercial and service forests registered to reduce emissions is 4.26 million ha, including 3.24 million ha of natural forests and 1.02 million ha of planted forests.

The agriculture ministry submitted the registration application for credit granting according to TREES standards and organised technical negotiation sessions with Emergent to complete the negotiation plan and soon submit it to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.