Vietnam is increasingly seeing its development affected by climate change and now faces critical questions about how to respond. The World Bank’s Vietnam Country Climate and Development Report proposes that Vietnam shift its development paradigm by incorporating two critical pathways – resilient pathway and decarbonizing pathway – that will help the country balance its development goals with increasing climate risks.
Pursuing a climate-resilient and net zero emissions development pathway is estimated to require additional investments of about 6.8 percent of GDP, or a cumulative US$368 billion through 2040. With the right mix of policies and strategies, Vietnam can leverage its decarbonization efforts to advance development objectives so that achieving net zero emissions does not reduce GDP growth. Government commitments can and should be bolstered by the engagement of the domestic private sector and through external finance, public and private.
