Hue City, 17 May 2023 - The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Embassy of Japan in Viet Nam have handed over six electric trucks to the Hue City People's Committee. They are the first electric trucks for waste collection in Viet Nam. The event was attended by representatives of the Thua Thien Hue Provincial People's Committee, the Hue City People's Committee, the Embassy of Japan in Viet Nam, and other local organizations.

Viet Nam has approved the Action Programme on Green Transformation and Carbon and Methane Reduction of the Transport Sector. The program aims to bolster energy efficiency and accelerate the adoption of electricity and green energy within the transport sector. By 2050, Viet Nam envisions a complete transition to 100% electric road vehicles, a crucial step towards achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from transportation. Provinces such as Thua Thien Hue will play a pivotal role in realizing these ambitious targets and driving the country's sustainable transportation agenda.

"The pilot replacement of some waste collection vehicles and garbage trucks by electric garbage trucks aligns with the orientation, the goals, and the desire of Hue City in particular and Thua Thien Hue Province in general towards green public transport system development, simultaneously promoting the program of waste separation at source in Hue City. The image of Hue City as the "ASEAN Environmentally Sustainable City," the "National Green City," is therefore expected to be further advertised to international friends. The living and working conditions of the people are expected to be improved. The socio-economic development is to be supported, contributing to the implementation of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals as well as other international commitments of Viet Nam," said Mr. Vo Le Nhat, Chairman of the People's Committee of Hue City.

According to Mr. Shimonishi Kiyoshi, Deputy Consulate General of Japan in Viet Nam, "The Government of Japan will support Viet Nam's efforts in energy transition, such as biomass power generation, hydroelectricity, ammonia, and CCUS, through the framework of the Zero Emission Asia-Pacific Partnership (AZEC). We will collaborate with partner countries to assist Viet Nam in reducing carbon emissions using renewable energy and other mechanisms under the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP). This e-Mobility project contributes to building policies and support frameworks to promote the widespread reduction of carbon emissions in the transportation sector."

During the handover ceremony, Mr. Patrick Haverman, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Viet Nam, expressed his appreciation for the cooperation and leadership of Thua Thien Hue Province in the green transport sector and the "great efforts to accelerate introducing 06 e-trucks for waste collection, providing concessional loans to encourage people to buy electric vehicles where 185 electric vehicles have been purchased in the first round of loan reimbursement, and develop modalities for bike/e-bike sharing in Hue city."

"Promoting new and cleaner transport vehicles can bring sustainable benefits in many ways, and the pilot initiatives on solutions for e-mobility will be able to paint a clear picture of these benefits while also increasing social acceptance, defining existing barriers, and gathering lessons learned and evidence for policy formulation and wider replication," he added.

The UNDP-implemented project, "Catalysing a Sustainable Shift Towards E-Mobility in Viet Nam," supported by the Government of Japan, aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by enhancing the ecosystem for e-mobility and green transport at the national level. The activities in Hue City will serve as a model to showcase the feasibility and benefits of green transportation. The project also supports the development of a national ecosystem for electric vehicles, including inputs to the national roadmap, policies, incentives, and charging infrastructure plans.

For more information, please kindly contact:
Phan Huong Giang
UNDP Media and Communications Analyst, 
Climate Change and Environment
Email: phan.huong.giang@undp.org
Mobile: 0948466688