At the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) Leaders Meeting held in Indonesia across August 20-21, four entities handed over an MoU on decarbonisation through energy management, aiming to make North Hanoi Smart City the first carbon-neutral urban area in Vietnam.

Madame Nguyen Thi Nga, chairwoman of BRG Group with representatives from participating parties at the MoU signing ceremony with the witness of Ken Saito, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan (centre)

The four entities were BRG Group, Sumitomo Corporation, North Hanoi Smart City Development Investment, and Thang Long Industrial Park (IP).

The goal of the MoU is to achieve decarbonisation in the integrated area of North Hanoi Smart City and Thang Long IP through energy management measures and to create a model for future IPs and smart cities in Vietnam, contributing to the Vietnamese government's carbon neutrality policy by 2050.

During the signing ceremony, Nguyen Thi Nga, chair of BRG Group, stated, “With a mission to contribute the best to the community, we hope to make the North Hanoi Smart City project, a key economic cooperation project between the Vietnamese and Japanese governments, the world's first carbon-neutral urban area. This will serve as a model for Hanoi and Vietnam in developing a more sustainable environment.”

North Hanoi Smart City will cost $4.2 billion and be located in Dong Anh district, Hanoi

Takashi Yanai, corporate officer and general manager of the Industrial Park and Sustainable City Business Unit under Sumitomo Corporation, shared, “Sumitomo Corporation group aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, and would like to contribute to Vietnam's commitment to cut emissions to net zero by 2050. This will be achieved through developing technologies including renewable power generation and energy saving solutions and business models to create a sustainable energy cycle.”

The AZEC conference was held in Jakarta, with participation of Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and government agencies from ASEAN countries.

At the previous conference chaired by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in December 2023 in Japan, with the participation of Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Kishida emphasised the importance of achieving the common goal of "net-zero emissions through various means" and a three-step breakthrough to achieve “decarbonisation, economic growth, and energy security”.

Kishida mentioned Japan's efforts to develop and introduce next-generation green technologies and expressed willingness to share Japan's technology and experience through the AZEC platform. This would facilitate coordinating policies through the "Asia Zero Emission Centre", establishing green supply chains through collaborative efforts including developing zero-emission IPs, and cooperation among businesses.

According to information released at this conference, Vietnam is the first partner that Japan has supported as part of the AZEC initiative.

The AZEC platform shares common principles among member countries, aiming to address the challenges of climate change while ensuring energy security and economic growth. At the same time, it also pursues the goal of carbon neutrality/net-zero emissions, depending on the specific conditions of each country.

The North Hanoi Smart City project is being developed by BRG Group in collaboration with Sumitomo Corporation. Construction is slated to begin in 2025 with residents allowed to gradually move in from 2026.

As reported by Nikkei Asia, Sumitomo aims to decarbonise all of the electricity consumed at its sites by 2030 by combining direct purchases from renewable energy power plants and the use of carbon credits. The Japanese company will make the smart city partially self-sufficient, tapping solar and biomass power generation facilities in a nearby IP with a capacity exceeding 200 MW to cover 30 per cent to 40 per cent of the city and IP's electricity demand. Investments are expected to total about 50 billion yen ($338 million).