VNEEP - National progaram on Energy Efficer and Conservation

Vietnam will probably import energy in the near future to meet the increasing consumer demand, experts warned at a workshop in Hanoi on December 12.

Experts said that energy demand for industrial production in Vietnam tripled in the 1998-2006 period, and the country is currently exploiting its natural resources at full capacity.

It is inevitable that Vietnam will have to purchase energy, given high consumption levels of liquefied gas and electricity, they said.

Dang Hai Dung, an official from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), said the law on energy efficiency and conservation, which took effect in early 2011, has helped establish a legal framework for formulating policies and long-term programmes on efficient use of energy and conservation.

Sharing the Japanese experience, expert Yamaguchi said his country has been successful with efficient energy consumption because it has implemented effective policies.

The country started to use energy saving stamps on products as early as 1975, and businesses that apply new, greener technologies to save energy are offered low interest credits and subsidies.

It also conducts research to develop energy saving technologies and has exchanged them with other countries including Turkey, Argentina and Finland.

As part of the workshop, seven companies from the Japanese Business Alliance for Smart Energy Worldwide (JASE-W) introduced some modern technologies which are expected to become popular in Vietnam.

The event was jointly held by the MoIT and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

By LM