Pioneering in the carbon credit market
Mr. Ha Sy Dong - Acting Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Tri province - said that Quang Tri is a pioneer locality in the exploitation and trading of carbon credits from forests and marine grass.
Currently, the province has 285,878 hectares of forest and forestry land, accounting for 60.8% of the province's area, of which about 20,000 hectares of natural forest have been assigned to the community and households for management and protection. In particular, 5 community-managed natural forests have been certified for sustainable forest development and management (FSC), with an area of nearly 2,145 hectares, helping to absorb 7,000 tons of CO2/year and store about 350,000 tons of CO2.
In 2023, Quang Tri is one of 6 localities piloting the participation in the carbon credit market according to Decree No. 107/2022/ND-CP of the Government. The province has earned more than 51 billion VND from selling carbon credits and this money will be used to protect forests, plant forests and support the community.
In addition to the forest, Quang Tri is also the first province in the country to study the ability to sell carbon credit from seagrass. Seagrass not only plays an important role in the ecosystem but also has the ability to store CO2 2-3 times higher than the green forest. The province has conducted research in the areas of Cua Tung, Cua Viet and Con Co Island to determine the carbon reserves and valuable of this ecosystem.
According to information from the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Quang Tri, the economic value of global marine grass is estimated at about 3.8 trillion USD, with the price of carbon credits significantly higher than that of forest credits. Exploiting carbon credits from marine grass will open up a new direction to help the province increase income, meet commitments to reduce emissions and promote a green economy.
To ensure conditions for participating in the carbon market and sustainable development, Quang Tri will continue to implement measures to reduce emissions, increase CO2 absorption in the fields of energy, agriculture, forestry and land use. At the same time, the province also promotes cooperation with development partners, businesses and non-governmental organizations to expand greenhouse gas emission reduction programs.
Renewable energy is a sustainable step
With a specific climate, Quang Tri owns abundant resources to develop clean energy. According to the survey, the average wind speed in the western area of the province reached more than 7m/s, the average sunny hour of up to 1,910 hours/year, the average solar radiation intensity reached 4.35kWh/m2/day. As a result, the province boldly called for investment and implementation of many projects, turning the advantage of "big sunshine, high wind" into sustainable energy.
By early 2025, Quang Tri has put into commercial operation 20 wind power projects with a total capacity of 742.2 MW, 11 hydropower projects with a capacity of 167.5 MW, 3 solar power projects reaching 119.6MW and a rooftop solar power system of about 90.2MW. The total capacity of power projects in operation has reached more than 1,100MW, affirming its position as a regional energy center.
In the period of 2025-2030, the province aims to generate commercial electricity about 6,000 - 10,000MW, focus on developing wind power on the shore and offshore, natural gas and LNG gas. This is an important step to realize the goal of the Resolution of the 17th Provincial Party Congress and action programs related to the national energy development strategy; strive to make Quang Tri an energy center of the Central region. In particular, concentrated mainly developing wind power on the shore, offshore wind power, natural gas thermal power and LNG gas.
With a strategy for developing renewable energy and a carbon credit market, Quang Tri is affirming its position as a pioneer locality in developing a green economy, contributing significantly to Vietnam's goal of reducing emissions and protecting the environment.
