Remarks by President von der Leyen on the Just Energy Transition Partnership with Vietnam at COP28

Prime Minister Chinh,

Secretary of State Coutinho,

What a pleasure to have you all here. Indeed, limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius is a collective responsibility. No country or region can solve the climate challenge by itself. That is why now, more than ever, we need cooperation between trusted partners.

The Just Energy Transition Partnership with Vietnam is an excellent example of such cooperation. We launched it together almost one year ago. Vietnam, like the UK and the European Union, has committed to net-zero emissions by 2050. And our International Partners Group, that is present here today, has committed to mobilise significant financing to support Vietnam towards this goal: At least EUR 15.5 billion in public and private finance in the next three to five years.

Today, we are a big step closer to kick-starting this transition. We are glad to endorse Vietnam's Resource Mobilisation Plan so that Vietnam can peak earlier, as you just described. Thus, shaving off significant volumes of CO2. Tomorrow, I will be at the launch of the Coal Transition Accelerator. This is exactly the sort of initiative that fits the goal of the Accelerator. The plan here will also boost Vietnam's renewable energy production. As you just said, energy must be affordable and accessible for all. Therefore, from a planned 36% in renewables that you had in Vietnam's electricity production, you are now going up to a mix to share of 47% in your mix. The plan is tailored specifically to the needs of the local economy and society. It will help develop wind and solar power, grids, or electric vehicles, for example.

But also, and crucially, it will help to equip the people of Vietnam with the skills needed. The transition has to be a just one if we want the transition to be successful. It has to create economic opportunities for all, and it has to ensure that workers and communities are not left behind. This is doable. Today, globally, there are already more jobs in the clean energy sector than jobs in the fossil fuel sector. And since 2019, in all the regions that saw declines in fossil fuel jobs, new clean energy jobs have outweighed these losses by far. This is a success story.

The Partnership with Vietnam is therefore a good example of everything we want to achieve here at COP28. We want to bring emissions down while driving economic growth up. And most importantly, we want to give people a better life and a healthier future, everywhere on this planet.

Dear Prime Minister, your country and your people can continue to count on our support.

Thank you very much for the attention.