Statement of the Southeast Asian Working Group on Fossil Gas and Energy Transition on Vietnam's PDP8

The Southeast Asian Working Group on Fossil Gas and Energy Transition argues that Vietnam's PDP8 fails to provide a genuine energy transition by maintaining significant roles for coal and fossil gas. While the plan increases renewable capacity to over 70 GW by 2030, the group claims the resulting renewable share of 30.9% to 39% is lackluster. The group specifically warns against the 'meteoric rise' of LNG and the use of ammonia and hydrogen as transition fuels, calling on international financiers to stop promoting gas and instead support a 1.5°C-aligned transition through the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).

• Vietnam's PDP8 aims to increase total hydropower, wind, and solar power capacity to over 70 GW by 2030, rising from 17 GW in 2020. However, the group asserts this results in a renewable energy share of only 30.9% to 39% by 2030, which is lower than the share of over 44% recorded in 2013.
• The PDP8 maintains a reliance on coal, anticipating 4.3 GW of new coal capacity by 2030 to keep coal at 20% of total national installed capacity. The plan also promotes fuel conversion using ammonia and biomass for plants that have operated for 20 years or are due for decommissioning.
• Fossil gas is set for significant expansion under PDP8, with domestic gas and imported LNG projected to comprise 24.8% of the power mix (37.33 GW) by 2030. Specifically, LNG is expected to grow from 0% currently to 14.9% by 2030.
• The group argues that Vietnam's reliance on ammonia and hydrogen as transition fuels is an expensive strategy that does not support true decarbonization, noting that the G7 suggests these should be used primarily for hard-to-abate sectors.
• The document states that Vietnam is the primary driver of fossil gas expansion in Southeast Asia, with 31 power plants totaling 76.9 GW, representing nearly half of the region's total pipeline.

APA

TrendAsia (2023). Statement of the Southeast Asian Working Group on Fossil Gas and Energy Transition on Vietnam's PDP8. Trend Asia. https://trendasia.org/en/statement-of-the-southeast-asian-working-group-on-fossil-gas-and-energy-transition-on-vietnams-pdp8/

Chicago

TrendAsia. Statement of the Southeast Asian Working Group on Fossil Gas and Energy Transition on Vietnam's PDP8. Trend Asia, 2023. https://trendasia.org/en/statement-of-the-southeast-asian-working-group-on-fossil-gas-and-energy-transition-on-vietnams-pdp8/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=TrendAsia |title=Statement of the Southeast Asian Working Group on Fossil Gas and Energy Transition on Vietnam's PDP8 |publisher=Trend Asia |date=30 May 2023 |url=https://trendasia.org/en/statement-of-the-southeast-asian-working-group-on-fossil-gas-and-energy-transition-on-vietnams-pdp8/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{trendasia2023statement, author = {TrendAsia}, title = {{Statement of the Southeast Asian Working Group on Fossil Gas and Energy Transition on Vietnam's PDP8}}, publisher = {Trend Asia}, year = {2023}, month = may, url = {https://trendasia.org/en/statement-of-the-southeast-asian-working-group-on-fossil-gas-and-energy-transition-on-vietnams-pdp8/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }