VIETNAM

The coal fleet in Vietnam has grown faster than in almost any other country, adding nearly 19,000 megawatts (MW) of its current 27,239 MW of operating coal power capacity since 2015. In May 2023, the official Power Development Plan VIII for 2021-2030 (PDP8) was approved by the Prime Minister. According to the plan, the country will continue increasing its coal-fired capacity to 30 gigawatts (GW) by 2030. Based on PDP8, Vietnam was led only by China in coal capacity cancellations in 2023. Yet, to align with its December 2022 Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) agreement, all remaining coal-fired power stations not yet in construction must be cancelled as well. As of mid-2024, Vietnam has 2,650 MW of pre-construction capacity and a futher 4,043 MW under construction. At the UN climate talks in Glasgow in 2021, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh announced a 2050 net-zero target, and in November 2022, the county submitted an updated Nationally Determined Contribution to increase its emissions reduction target for 2030 from 9% to 15.8%. New coal projects in Vietnam have struggled to obtain financing, and PDP8 gave proposed projects until June 2024 to either make advancements or be terminated. In December 2023, Vietnam's JETP "Resource Mobilization Plan" reiterated the goals established in PDP8 and outlined coal-to-alternative conversion aspirations, but it did not provide phaseout goals at the plant level. Vietnam is moving closer to commissioning its last new coal plant, but concerns about coal’s role in the country’s long-term energy landscape remain.