Focus on achieving that balance increased in late 2022 with news that Vietnam would become the third country in the world – after South Africa and Indonesia – to agree to a Just Energy Transition Partnership with a coalition of developed economies. Vietnam’s JETP is valued at $US15.5 billion and seeks to bring forward the projected peak date for greenhouse gas emissions to 2030, limit peak coal capacity to 30.2 GW (down from 37GW) and accelerate adoption of renewable energy so that it accounts for at least 47 per cent of electricity generation by 2030 (up from 36 per cent).
A resource mobilisation plan for Vietnam’s JETP was announced during COP28.
Vietnam’s long-awaited Power Development Plan 8 (PDP8) was approved in May 2023 and then revised in April 2025, clearing the way for natural gas to replace coal as the country’s primary source of baseload power by 2030. While the share of domestic natural gas in the Vietnam’s electricity generation will remain relatively stable, LNG imports are projected to grow from being non-existent until 2023 to providing up to 12.3 per cent of power in 2030.
Long-term, the revised PDP8 charts significant growth in electricity production to both 2030 and 2050, supporting sustained strong rates of economic growth. Renewable energy sources, excluding hydropower, are expected to make up around 75% of the energy mix by 2050, with a large increase in wind power compared to the original PDP8.
Natural Gas Imports
Vietnam’s first LNG import terminal – Thi Vai – took delivery of its inaugural shipment in 2023, and a second facility at Cai Mep has since come online. Plans are progressing for an expansion of the Thi Vai terminal, with significant growth in LNG receiving and regasification capabilities required to achieve the 2030 targets outline in PDP8.
LNG storage is also a focus. Vietnam’s government approved plans in mid-2023 to increase LNG storage capacity to 20 million tonnes per year by 2030, with a view to doubling that figure in the future.
Significant growth in LNG imports is necessary for Vietnam to fulfil PDP8 because of the difficulty in developing complex domestic offshore gas fields, which are capital-intensive and geopolitically sensitive – often in, or close to, disputed territory in the politically fragile South China Sea.
That said, after decades of uncertainty, the Block B – O Mon gas-to-power value chain project is finally proceeding. The $12 billion project in southwest Vietnam is expected to provide gas that will underpin 3800 MW of electricity generation.
An updated implementation plan accompanying the revised PDP8 outlined aspirations for seven new LNG-to-power projects to be developed from 2025 to 2035, alongside 10 domestic gas-to-power projects that are currently scheduled for development or operation from 2025 to 2030.
Vietnam submitted an updated Nationally Determined Contribution as part of COP27, pledging to increase its unconditional greenhouse gas emissions reductions target to 15.8% by 2030 subject to a business-as-usual scenario from 2010 (the previous target had been 9% from 2014), or to achieve emissions reductions of 43.5% by 2030 with international support.
Its ability to achieve these goals and how it progresses them will be closely monitored.
While there have been promising signs in the development of Vietnam’s capabilities as an LNG importer, its ability to access sufficient volumes in the longer term will likely be price-sensitive and subject to global supply developments in the 2030s. With Vietnam’s early LNG deliveries coming via the spot market, longer-term purchasing contracts offer an opportunity to make gas-fired power more cost-competitive with coal.
Natural Resources In Vietnam
Besides its reserves of coal, oil and natural gas, Vietnam has strong potential for renewable energy sources.
Solar and wind power have experienced the most growth, increasing from a tiny share of electricity generation in the mid-2010s to make up more than a combined 12% in 2024.
Although Vietnam emerged as an early leader in Southeast Asia in renewable energy it has struck challenges with further expansion, including a grid that is unprepared for adding large-scale wind and solar projects.
The case for LNG + renewables
A 2025 study by S&P Global Commodity Insights identified a combination of increased use of LNG and expansion of renewable energy as a viable pathway for Vietnam to accelerate the phaseout of coal and decarbonisation of the power sector.
The analysis found that Vietnam could use this approach to reduce power sector emissions by 33% and retire half of coal-fired power by 2035, while investing only 14% more in the energy system. This was possible because LNG from Australia, the US and Qatar – the world’s three biggest exporters – had 47% lower average lifecycle carbon intensity when used in power generation than coal.
The study revealed a sharp contrast in the affordability of Vietnam pursuing full decarbonisation by 2035. This would require energy system investment to double, while the average marginal electricity prices – the costs paid by communities and industries – would more than triple.
Hydrogen Energy
Vietnam launched its first hydrogen strategy early in 2024, including plans to produce up to 500,000 million tonnes per year by 2030 from renewable energy and other sources with carbon capture. Plans for Vietnam to develop nuclear energy were suspended in 2016 but there have been reports in recent years that this stance could be revisited.
Non-Renewables
Currently, the spectre of coal use looms large over Vietnam’s energy landscape.
A ramp-up in coal-fired power generation in the first half of 2024 illustrates the challenge for Vietnam in managing energy security while also transitioning its energy systems. Coal accounted for a record 64.6% of Vietnam’s electricity in April 2024 and even though Vietnam has pledged not to develop new coal-fired plants after 2030, its current fleet is the youngest in Asia.
