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HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF LAW INTERNATIONAL LAW FACULTY *** PHẠM BÁ PHONG STUDENT ID 1853801012155 CLIMATE CHANGE RESPONSE FROM VIETNAM’S COMMITMENTS UNDER EVFTA AND CPTPP TO ITS DOMESTIC IMPLEME[.]
HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF LAW INTERNATIONAL LAW FACULTY -*** PHẠM BÁ PHONG STUDENT ID: 1853801012155 CLIMATE CHANGE RESPONSE: FROM VIETNAM’S COMMITMENTS UNDER EVFTA AND CPTPP TO ITS DOMESTIC IMPLEMENTATION BACHELOR THESIS School year: 2018 - 2022 Supervisor: LL.M Nguyen Thi Kim Cuc Ho Chi Minh City - 2022 DECLARATION I declare that this thesis is the result of my research, which is conducted under the supervision of LL.M Nguyen Thi Kim Cuc, ensures honesty, and complies with rules and regarding quotation, the note of references Therefore, I hereby take full responsibility for this declaration LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Abbreviations COP26 CPTPP DAG Contents 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Domestic advisory group Decree No 06/2022/ND-CP of the Government on mitigation of green Decree No 06/2022/ND-CP house gas (GHG) emissions and protection of ozone layer dated 07 January 2022 EU European Union EVFTA EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement FTA Free trade agreement GHG Greenhouse gas ICAP IPCC The International Carbon Action Partnership Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change LEP Law on Environmental Protection MEA Multilateral environmental agreements MONRE Montreal Protocol Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer NDC Nationally determined contributions TPP Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement UN UNFCCC United Nations United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 Problem statement Literature review Purpose of the study Objectives and Scope of the study 4.1 Objectives of the study 4.2 Scope of the study Research methodologies Scientific and practical values of the thesis Thesis structure CHAPTER 1: CLIMATE CHANGE RESPONSE COMMITMENTS UNDER EVFTA AND CPTPP 10 1.1 Theoretical issues relating to climate change and climate change response 10 1.1.1 Definition of climate change 10 1.1.2 Causes and impacts of climate change 12 1.1.3 General understanding of climate change response 14 1.2 Climate change response commitments under EVFTA and CPTPP 16 1.2.1 The inclusion of climate change response commitments under free trade agreements 16 1.2.2 Climate change responses commitments under the EVFTA 19 1.2.3 Climate change response commitments under the CPTPP 27 CONCLUSION OF CHAPTER 31 CHAPTER 2: CLIMATE CHANGE RESPONSE PROVISIONS UNDER VIETNAMESE LAW AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR VIETNAM 32 2.1 Climate change response provisions under Vietnamese law 32 2.1.1 General review of Vietnamese law and policy on climate change response 32 2.1.2 Evaluations 42 2.2 Recommendations for Vietnam 46 CONCLUSION OF CHAPTER 52 THESIS CONCLUSION 54 BIBLIOGRAPHY INTRODUCTION Problem statement Climate change has been recognized as one of the biggest challenges of our times threatening both regional and global security as well as diminishing the significant development achievements of humanity at present and in the future According to United Nations (UN), the Earth is now about 1.1oC warmer than it was in the late 1800s and the last decade (2011-2020) was the warmest on record2 Following this, there exists various consequences of climate change such as intense droughts, water scarcity, rising sea levels, flooding, melting polar ice and declining biodiversity Particularly, in 2021, Vietnam witnessed a relatively high average temperature with 24.6oC, 0.7oC higher than usual Moreover, Vietnam has suffered from 12 storms and tropical depressions causing more than 40 heavy rains and widespread flooding3 Besides, although climate change may be a result of natural long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns, human activities has been the main driver of climate change since the 1800s4, primarily due to burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas Acknowledging climate change and its severe impacts to human lives, countries has gravitated towards signing or participating in international agreements on environmental protection, including climate change response With respect to the global frameworks on climate change response, Vietnam is a constituent member of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)5 which For example, people living in small island nations and other developing countries are vulnerable to climate impacts when, due to conditions such as sea-level rise and saltwater intrusion, whole communities have had to relocate and suffer famine United Nations, “What is climate change?”, [https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/what-is-climate-change] (accessed on 24 April 2022) Phan Hau, “Climate change makes weather and natural disasters abnormal and irregular”, [https://thanhnien.vn/bien-doi-khi-hau-khien-thoi-tiet-thien-tai-dien-bien-di-thuong-trai-quy-luatpost1451345.html] (accessed on 24 April 2022) United Nations, supra note The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) opened for signature at the “Rio Earth Summit” in 1992 entered into force on 21 March 1994 Further information available at: UNFCCC, “What is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change?”, [https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-convention/what-is-the-united-nations-framework-conventionon-climate-change] (accessed on 20 may 2022) was the first global agreement on climate change and possesses near-universal membership with 197 Parties Furthermore, within the UNFCCC framework, Vietnam is also a member of two international agreements, namely the Kyoto Protocol6 and the Paris Agreement7 Regarding Paris Agreement, at the end of the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26)8 hosted in Glasgow on 31 October – 13 November 2021, the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius was kept alive and the Paris Agreement rulebook was completed9 Notably, at COP26, Vietnam delivered strong commitments which include reaching net-zero carbon emission target by 2050, stopping deforestation by 2030 and phasing out coal-fueled power generation by 204010 In addition to participating in international agreements on climate change, Vietnam, similar to other nations, has been striving to incorporate climate change response provisions in regional trade agreements, particularly, the free trade agreements (FTAs)11 In this context, Vietnam has become a constituent member of two new-generation FTAs 12 , namely EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) 13 and Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific The Protocol was adopted on 11 December 1997 and it entered into force on 16 February 2005 Further information available at: UNFCCC, “What is the Kyoto Protocol?”,[https://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol](accessed on 12 June 2022) The Paris Agreement was adopted by 196 Parties at COP 21 in Paris, on 12 December 2015 and entered into force on November 2016 Further information available at: UNFCCC, “The Paris Agreement”, [https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement] (accessed on 12 June 2022) Conference of the Parties (COP) is a global climate summits and COP26 which took place in Glasgow means 2021 was the 26th annual summit Further information available at: European Commission, “COP26: EU helps deliver outcome to keep the Paris Agreement targets alive”, [https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_21_6021] (accessed on 12 June 2022) 10 Dezan Shira & Associates, “COP26 and Climate Change: Vietnam’s Commitment to Reducing Emissions”, Vietnam Briefing, [https://www.Vietnam-briefing.com/news/cop26-climate-change-Vietnamscommitment-reducing-emissions.html/] (accessed on 21 December 2021) 11 In general, a free trade agreement (FTA) is an agreement between two or more countries where they mutually agree on certain obligations that affect trade in goods and services, intellectual property rights, environmental protection, etc 12 In general, new-generation free trade agreements (FTAs) are FTAs that not only include traditional trade provisions but also other non-trade provisions such as environmental protection and labor 13 The EVFTA was signed on 30 June 2019 and approved by the Vietnamese National Assembly on 08 June 2020 It came into force on 01 August 2020 Further information available at: Center for WTO and Partnership (CPTPP) 14 in order to not only create solid foundations for the integration into global supply chains but also promote universal standards such as environmental protection and labor, including climate change response In general, the two FTAs aim to promote sustainable development, including environmental protection and responding to climate change, as well as reaffirm the Parties’ commitments to comply with international agreements such as the UNFCCC or the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Montreal Protocol)15 By having made strong commitments at COP26 and participated in the above FTAs, Vietnam is willing to meet the full compliance with international agreements as well as the EVFTA and the CPTPP in order to fulfill the climate change response commitments Following this, Vietnam must amend and/ or issue suitable policies and legal documents On 17 November 2020, the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam adopted the Law on Environmental Protection (LEP) 2020 effective on 01 January 2022, replacing the Law on Environmental Protection 2014 Although the new law makes appropriate amendments and provides new provisions to comply with the international climate response commitments, there still exists certain drawbacks that need to be addressed and improved In this research, the author concentrates on three different aspects to make recommendations for Vietnam International trade - Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, “Vietnam - EU (EVFTA)”, [https://wtocenter.vn/fta/199-Vietnam eu-evfta-/1] (accessed on 12 June 2022) 14 The CPTPP was signed on 08 March 2018 in Chile, being the result of a process of effort by all members after the United States withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) The Agreement officially came into force on 30 December 2018 for the first six countries and 14 January 2019 for Vietnam Further information available at: Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam (MOIT), “General introduction on the CPTPP”, [http://cptpp.moit.gov.vn/default.aspx?page=news&do=detail&category_id=8be36248-117a-4530814c-555746b31c92&id=fd3872ae-b8f7-4e46-bd8a-141a8b522a2d] (accessed on 12 June 2022) 15 The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is a multilateral environmental agreement that regulates the production and consumption of ozone depleting substances More information available at: United Nations Environment Programme, “About Montreal Protocol”, [https://www.unep.org/ozonaction/who-we-are/about-montreal-protocol] (accessed on 20 June 2022) regarding its domestic implementation, namely the development of domestic carbon market, the promotion of renewable energy and the protection of ozone layer16 Firstly, with respect to the development carbon market, it is widely acknowledged that carbon market has been a major component of responding to climate change17 Vietnam is also concentrating on the operation of this market in the near future 18 In the EVFTA, the Parties acknowledges the promotion of domestic and international carbon markets [Article 13.6(2)(b)], while the LEP 2020 19 only contains general provisions on the construction, operation and promotion of such market Therefore, it is necessary to research and draw recommendations where suitable on this matter Otherwise, Vietnam will not be able to construct and operate the domestic carbon market, which is the foundation for integration in international carbon market Secondly, in terms of the promotion of renewable energy, developing renewable energy sources in order to replace traditional energy can be consider as a sustainable mean that contribute to mitigate climate change 20 The EVFTA also provides that Parties acknowledges the promotion of energy efficiency, lowemission technology and renewable energy [Article 13.6(2)(c)] However, the development of renewable energy in Vietnam has not yet been regulated by a stable and long-term legal framework, which causes difficulties in fulfilling the climate change response commitments under EVFTA as well as effective domestic implementation of such commitments in Vietnam 16 The development of carbon market and the promotion of renewable energy are regulated under the EVFTA, while the protection of ozone layer is provided under the CPTPP 17 The World Bank, “What You Need to Know About Article of the Paris Agreement”,[https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2022/05/17/what-you-need-to-know-about-article6-of-the-paris-agreement] (accessed on 20 June 2022) 18 To Duc Huy and Hoang Anh, “Vietnam will have domestic carbon market in 2028”, [https://nongnghiep.vn/viet-nam-se-co-thi-truong-cac-bon-trong-nuoc-tu-nam-2028-d306939.html] (accessed on 10 June 2022) 19 The LEP 2020 is also guided by a recently issued Decree which is the Decre (BỔ SUNG) Although there is a guidance document, the legislations regarding domestic carbon market in Vietnam still leaves room for improvement 20 Moomaw, W et al., “Renewable Energy and Climate Change”, [https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/03/Chapter-1-Renewable-Energy-and-Climate-Change-1.pdf] (accessed on 13 June 2022) ... the topic ? ?Climate change response: from Vietnam’s commitments under EVFTA and CPTPP to its domestic implementation? ?? aims to analyze the climate change response commitments under EVFTA and CPTPP, ... 1.2.2 Climate change responses commitments under the EVFTA 19 1.2.3 Climate change response commitments under the CPTPP 27 CONCLUSION OF CHAPTER 31 CHAPTER 2: CLIMATE CHANGE RESPONSE. .. understanding of climate change response 14 1.2 Climate change response commitments under EVFTA and CPTPP 16 1.2.1 The inclusion of climate change response commitments under free trade agreements