China-Vietnam carbon markets explored in new academic work

An academic study comparing the carbon market mechanisms of Vietnam and China has been released as Vietnam gears up to launch its first domestic carbon exchange.

China-Vietnam Carbon Market is co-authored by Vietnamese scholar Duong Thi Thanh, who has long specialized in forest carbon sinks, and Professor Zhang Ying, her doctoral supervisor at Beijing Forestry University (BFU).

An example of Sino-Vietnamese cross-border academic and industry cooperation, the work aims to provide academic support for Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cross-border climate governance.

Before choosing to pursue a doctoral degree at the School of Economics and Management at BFU, Duong noticed that Vietnam's forest carbon sink market remained largely uncharted and under-researched.

"What do forest carbon sinks mean for Vietnam? The country has a high forest coverage rate of 42 percent, with 14.7 million hectares of forest that collectively absorb an estimated 69.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually," Duong said.

She noted that this massive green asset provides strong momentum for Vietnam to establish a forest carbon sink market, adding that a scientific accounting methodology is a crucial prerequisite for driving investment in forest conservation and sustainable management.

During her studies and research at BFU, she found that China's experience in marketizing forestry carbon sinks, from regional pilots to a national rollout, alongside its accumulated expertise in carbon credit development and trading rule design, offers direct reference value for Vietnam, which is currently in the nascent stage of building its own carbon market.