22/02/2021
On 11 December 2020, at the Presidential Palace, the State President’s Office held a press conference to announce the State President’s Order on the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 and 6 other laws passed by the National Assembly at the 10th session of the 14th National Assembly.
At the press conference, presenting the Law on Environmental Protection 2020, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Võ Tuấn Nhân said that the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 aims to promptly institutionalize the policies and guidelines of the Communist Party, policies of the State, especially Conclusion No. 56-KL/TW dated 23 August 2019 of the Politburo; Việt Nam’s environmental institutional reform is asymptotic with the legal policy of environmental protection in the world, meeting the requirements of international integration. The highest goal is to improve environmental quality, protect people’s health, balance ecology, conserve biodiversity and develop sustainable economics.
Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Võ Tuấn Nhân speaking at the press conference (Photo: MONRE)
With 16 Chapters and 171 Articles, the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 has many provisions to strongly reform administrative procedures, of which cuts more than 40% of administrative procedures, reduces the time for implementing administrative procedures from 20 to 85 days, contributing to reducing compliance costs of businesses through the following provisions: Narrowing the subjects that must implement environmental impact assessment; integrating administrative procedures into 01 environmental license; synchronizing environmental management instruments for each stage of the project, starting from the stage of investment policy review, project appraisal, project implementation until the project goes into official operation and to the end of the project. For the first time, the Law designed a policy framework aiming to form an overall, comprehensive law on environmental protection harmonious with the socio-economic legal system.
The Law has many fundamental innovations, including:
(1) For the first time, residential community is defined as a subject in environmental protection; enhance information disclosure, consultation, promote the role of supervision and criticism, also ensure the rights and interests of the residential community when participating in environmental protection activities. The Law has supplemented the principle of environmental protection activities to be open and transparent; clearly specified responsibility to disclose information related to environmental quality, environmental impact assessment reports, environmental licenses; the State policy is to encourage organizations and individuals to contribute and provide information on the environment.
(2) Change the method of environmental management for investment projects according to environmental criteria; strictly control projects with a high degree of adverse impacts on the environment, conduct post-check for projects with advanced and environmentally friendly technologies. The Law has shown a strong change in environmental management thinking through institutionalizing the development policy based on the laws of nature, without sacrificing the environment in exchange for economic growth; environmental protection must be in harmony with nature, and encourage nature protection and development. Also, set environmental standards and regulations to achieve the goal of ensuring that Vietnamese people enjoy an environmental quality equal to those of other countries in the world and in harmony with international regulations to contribute to the implementation of Việt Nam’s international commitments on environmental protection and climate change responses. Approach the cross-cutting and scientific method of environmental management for investment projects based on environmental criteria; screen and discourage projects that do not comply with laws of nature, occupy large areas of forests and paddy land, are in danger of causing floods, depleting flows, affecting natural heritages, conservation area; apply appropriate environmental management instruments for each stage from strategy, planning, program development to investment project implementation.
(3) Have institutionalized environmental health content; added many solutions to protect environmental components, especially the air environment and the water environment. The Law has supplemented the content of management of pollutants that has direct impacts on human health; clearly specified the responsibilities of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Health, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial People’s Committees in monitoring, controlling and preventing pollutants affecting human health as well as assessing the relationship between environmental health and human health, especially the relationship between environmental pollution and new diseases.
(4) Promote classification of wastes at source; orient ways of managing and dealing with wastes, contributing to promoting the circular economy in Việt Nam. For the first time, the Law has specified the implementation of waste fee collection based on weight or volume instead of the current average per household or per capita; stipulated the extended responsibility of organizations and individuals that manufacture or import recyclable / non-recyclable products and packages that must be recalled at the required rates and specifications or through service contracts or financial contribution mechanisms to support the recycling of products and packages manufactured or imported by them; thereby creating a favorable legal corridor to promote the waste recycling in Việt Nam.
(5) For the first time, the institution of state management authority is based on the principle of integrated, unified management, one task is assigned to only one agency in charge of implementation with strong decentralization for local levels. The Law abolished the procedure for issuing license for wastewater discharged into water sources, irrigation works, incorporated this content into environmental license to unify responsibilities, authority and principles of integrated water resources management; also, drastically reduce administrative procedures for businesses. In parallel with this institution, the Law has also added the responsibilities, authority to participate, criticize and consensus of irrigation works management agencies right from the EIA stage until the issuance of environmental license for facilities discharging wastewater into irrigation works in order to enhance the coordination of agencies, while ensuring the role of the state management agencies in charge of irrigation works in controlling water quality of irrigation works.
The press conference (Photo: MONRE)
(6) For the first time, the Law specifies institutions on environmental auditing aimed to enhance the enterprise’s capacity and efficiency in environmental management. The purpose of this activity is to strengthen the capacity of enterprises to manage the environment, to help them recognize gaps in environmental management and to have solutions to adjust environmental management activities more effectively.
(7) Concretize provisions on responding to climate change, promoting the development of the domestic carbon market. The Law has added provisions on climate change adaptation, GHG emission reduction, ozone layer protection, and integration of climate change responses into the system of strategies, planning and implementation of international commitments on climate change and ozone layer protection. Institutions on organization and development of the carbon market are as instruments to promote the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the country, helping the implementation of the contribution to GHG emission reduction as committed by Việt Nam when participating in the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
(8) Complete the legal corridor to protect natural heritage in accordance with international law on world heritage, meeting the requirements of the international integration process. The Law has set out the criteria for establishing and recognizing natural heritage based on international criteria and current conditions in Việt Nam; in which, for objects that are natural heritages as prescribed in the law on forestry, fisheries, biodiversity and cultural heritage, these provisions are still applied to avoid disturbances and overlaps. The Law also stipulates the content on environmental protection of natural heritage to protect and promote the sustainable values of natural heritage in our country.
(9) Create policies to develop sustainable economic growth models, promote a circular economy, restore and develop natural capital resources to create a driving force for sustainable development and improve growth quality and national prosperity. The Law has added a chapter on economic instruments and resources for environmental protection including policies on developing environmental industries, environmental services, environmentally friendly products and services; prioritizing green procurement for projects and tasks using state budgets; promoting the exploitation, use and development of natural capital; especially promoting the circular economy. Also, the Law supplements policies on green credit and green bonds to mobilize diverse social resources for environmental protection.
With the above new breakthrough policies, businesses, communities and people expect that the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 will create many breakthroughs, promote the effectiveness of environmental protection and support our country’s international integration process.
Châu Long
