A COMPARISON BETWEEN REGULATSIONATIONS ON CLIMATE CHANGE MANAGEMENT UNDER THE CPTPP AND EVFTA: CHALLENGES FOR VIETNAM’S ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY

Tran Viet Dung

Associate Professor, PhD, Dean of International Law Faculty, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law.

Le Minh Nhut

LL.M., lecturer of International Law Faculty, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law.

Tran Thi Ngoc Ha

LL.M., lecturer of International Law Faculty, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law.

Abstract

Climate change has long been discussed by the international community. However, in the discussion on climate change policy over the decades, the link between trade and climate change was rarely noticed by the governments. Hence, the legal practices of the World Trade Organization (WTO) suggests that its environmental trade rules can help respond to anti-climate change goals (although the related rules of WTO appear only under form of general exceptions and with general content only).

As the Doha Round was frozen because the WTO member states were unable to agree on new rules for the global trading system, the countries moved towards trade agreements. The new generation of bilateral and regional agrements (FTA) aim at promoting trade liberalization among member states. Not only that, they also stipulate many non-conventional trade issues, request the government be responsible in environmental policies, and limit the competitiveness of products that cause climate change through the regulations requiring the countries to maintain a mechanism to treat products in accordance with the amount of emissions emitted in the manufacturing process.

This paper will assess the Vietnam’s commitments on climate change management under the CPTPP and EVFTA, the two most important new-generation FTA of Vietnam. Accordingly, Vietnam shall take measures and take more active action in combating climate change (for example, completing the emission trading mechanism, protecting and combating forest degradation, and strengthening energy saving, low emission technology and renewable energy, information transparency and consultation mechanism). Through the analysis of the EVFTA and CPTPP regulations on climate change, the paper would critically analyzes the Vietnamese legal framework on climate change management, especially the 2014 Law on Environmental Protection. The paper finally proposes some recommendations to Vietnamese environmental laws to ensure the efficient implementation of the FTAs.