The Carbon Trust has been invited to share its experience in local energy planning and sustainable energy development as part of the UK-supported "Central Region Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Energy Planning Capacity Building Project"(CESEP) in Vietnam.
As part of this project WWF-Vietnam and Thua Thien Hue Department of Industry and Trade jointly organised a conference last week in Hue. Participants from across public, civil society, and business sectors in Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam, and Quang Tri provinces and Da Nang City attended.
At the conference key results from a pilot energy efficiency plan created for the high-plain prawn farming area in Quang Cong Commune, Quang Dien District was shared, alongside the experiences from Thai Binh Province and the United Kingdom.
The pilot plan has been developed for Quang Cong commune to understand the positive impact that collaboration between authorities, local businesses and civil society can have on sustainable energy use. The overall target of the pilot project is to reduce energy consumption by twenty percent in the prawn farming area in Quang Cong Commune by 2015, thus reducing the farmers' energy expenses and the Greenhouse Gas (GHGs) emissions from the farming activities.
The high-plain prawn farming area in Quang Cong Commune was selected for piloting sustainable energy development planning, as this activity accounts for the second largest electricity consumption in the Quang Dien District. Following the energy baseline development and assessment of feasible actions, in consultation with local farmers, three actions are proposed in the pilot energy efficiency plan, as follows:
- Establishment of an energy service group to provide information and energy services to the local farmers;
- Replacement of the three water pumps; and
- Replacement of diesel motors with electrical motors for prawn farming operations of at least sixteen households.
Public sector bodies consume lots of energy through the delivery of their services. Implementing energy efficiency measures helps to save money and meet their public responsibility to use public funding wisely. To date the Carbon Trust has worked with over 3,000 public bodies in the UK realising over £650M of cost savings. Given the challenges for future energy demands of Vietnam's growing economy and our expertise in lower carbon energy solutions, we've been thrilled to exchange the experience of UK Local Governments on this crucial topic.
Tom Cumberlege, Consultant at the Carbon Trust
We would like to promote sustainable energy use in various productive activities across the Province. If the project succeeds in helping local people to use energy sustainably and creating good income in Quang Cong Commune, we will consider replicating the model across Thua Thien Hue Province. The UK is well known for low carbon development and energy efficiency initiatives and we've found this knowledge very helpful to inform our approach.
Mr Nguyen Duy Thanh, Vice Director of the Department for Industry and Trade of Thua Thien Huesaid
This conference is a good opportunity for us to present the final draft pilot energy efficiency plan for the prawn farming area in Quang Cong Commune and get more ideas from stakeholders and experts in the region, Vietnam, and the UK. We hope the lessons learned from this pilot planning will promote sustainable energy development and thus more efficient natural resource use in Thua Thien Hue and Vietnam.
Trine Glue Doan, Climate and Energy Adviser, WWF-Vietnam
Notes to editors
The CESEP is funded by the Bilateral Fund of the British Embassy in Vietnam for 2012-2013 and with the objective to support capacity for local sustainable energy planning and facilitate collaboration between authorities, business and civil society in Central Vietnam. The project is implemented by WWF-Vietnam in collaboration with Thua Thien Hue Department of Industry and Trade and Danang Department of Science and Technology and with technical assistance from the Carbon Trust (UK). The project runs from September 2012 to March 2013.
About WWF
The world's leading conservation organization, WWF works in 100 countries and is supported by 5 million members globally. WWF's unique of working combines global reach with foundation in science, involves action at every level from local to global, and ensures the delivery of innovative solutions that meet the needs of both people and nature.
For more information about WWF Vietnam, please visit: www.panda.org/vietnam
About the Carbon Trust
The Carbon Trust is an independent company with a mission to accelerate the move to a sustainable, low carbon economy. The Carbon Trust:
- advises businesses, governments and the public sector on opportunities in a sustainable, low carbon world.
- measures and certifies the environmental footprint of organisations, products and services.
- helps develop and deploy low carbon technologies and solutions, from energy efficiency to renewable power.
For further information please contact the Carbon Trust press office on 020 7170 7050 or press@carbontrust.com. Alternatively visit www.carbontrust.com.
