The bet taken by the Vietnamese authorities for coal-fired power plants in order to meet the strong increase in energy demand brings with it the increase in polluting emissions, thus making the air in major cities unhealthy.
Hanoi is the city most affected, already in 2017 only enjoyed 38 days of clean air, quadrupling the average minimum levels of the WHO (the World Health Organization), according to a new report by Green ID (the Vietnamese Center for Green Innovation and Development.
At the same time that surrounding traffic and industries have something to do with emissions like in any other city the more than 20 coal power plants are added surrounding the capital.
The report cited above points out this fact as one of the main factors, with air quality in the last positions in Southeast Asia.
Nguyen Thi Khanh, Director of Green ID, explained at a recent conference in Hanoi that:
“Countries like China and South Korea are turning their backs on coal because it poses a health hazard.
It is time for us to choose a new mode of development that does not involve the sacrifice of the environment and clean air ”.
However, voices like Khanh's, fortunately more and more numerous, do not change the plans of the Vietnamese authorities, which they have seen in coal is a cheap energy source to meet the needs of industry and consumers themselves, which grow by more than 10% each year.
More coal power plants
The tremendous economic progress of the last 3 decades has triggered the demand for energy, as a consequence we have a lot of damage to the environment.
Between 1991 and 2012, the country's GDP (Gross Domestic Product) increased by 315% while the increase in greenhouse gas emissions stood at 937%.
On the other hand, with the 26 coal plants that the country has in operation, the communist regime plans to add another 6 by 2020 and have operations by 2030 at least 51 coal plants, hoping in this way to produce more than half of the energy consumed, burning about 129 million tons of coal per year.
In the province of Long An, very close to Ho Chi Ming (the most populated city in the country and where the air grows alarmingly), the construction of one of the most powerful of these coal-fired power plants is planned.
The Vietnamese Center for Innovation and Green Development estimates that if the construction of this plant is completed, the volume of dust in the air in some areas will multiply by 11, in addition, sulfur oxide will increase by 7 and that of nitrate oxide by 4 compared to the levels established in 2014.
This will make it difficult Vietnam's commitment to cut its polluting emissions by 2030 by 25%.
Premature deaths
According to a study published by Harvard University and Greenpeace, the construction and opening of these coal-fired power plants will also cause a sharp increase in premature deaths in the country.
It is estimated that by 2030 more than 20.000 Vietnamese will die a year, about five times more than in 2011 and even exceeding the average of the surrounding countries.
Kim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank warned at a conference that:
"If Vietnam continued with its plans and the countries of the region followed the same path, it would be a disaster for the planet."
This entity, which has financed several coal plants in Asia in recent years, it will end with its aid from 2019. However, Vietnam will turn to financing from countries such as South Korea, Japan and China, countries where coal is losing ground and its environmental demands are much more stringent for companies.
For these reasons, the sustainable alternative demanded by both the World Bank and environmental groups for the number of hours of sunshine and the wind potential of some regions for the Hanoi regime does not seem a priority.
Hoang Quoc Vuong, Vice Minister of Industry, justified that:
"The drive to move forward will continue to be that of energy generated with coal due to technical difficulties and the lack of stability of the sun and wind in the country."