Vietnam's Laws on Environmental Protection

Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP 

Passed

Chapter XI of Decree 08 specifies certain activities regarding the environmental protection obligations of the Government authorities. These activities include the management and treatment of waste, construction of facilities for environmental protection, adaption to climate change, communication and provision of training to increase awareness and knowledge on environmental protection, dissemination of the Law on Environmental Protection and response to climate change.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP dated 10 January 2022 detailing several articles of the Law on Environmental Protection ("Decree 08")

Law on Environmental Protection No: 55/2014/QH13

Law on Environmental Protection No. 72/2020/QH14

Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP

Decree 05/2025/ND-CP on amendments to Decree 08/2022/ND-CP guiding Law on Environmental Protection

Entry into force

Law passed

Amended

The Law specifies that environmental protection should be in harmony with economic development, social protection, biodiversity protection and adapting to climate change. The revised law replaces a previous version published in 2005 and states that protecting the environment is the responsibility of all agencies, organisations, households and individuals; that organisations and individuals that benefit from the environment are responsible for providing financial support for environmental protection activities; and also outlines a polluter-pays principle. It recommends that the development and use of clean and renewable forms of energy be encouraged to reduce GHG emissions and to protect the ozone layer. It also specifies that a road map be developed so that Vietnam may participate in global GHG mitigation activities appropriate to the country's socio-economic circumstances and the international treaties of which Vietnam is a member. The law requires the development of a National Environmental Protection Plan to assess the current environmental status, and environmental and climate change forecasts. It introduces several environmental criteria to classify investment projects, including (1) scale, capacity, and type of production, business or services; (2) the area of land use, of land with water surface and/or of sea area, the scale of exploitation of natural resources; and (3) sensitive environmental factors. Such criteria will help determine which project is subject to environment impact preliminary assessment (EIPA), environment impact assessment (EIA) and environment permit.
Decree 05/2025/ND-CP requires the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment to develop a national and regional monitoring and evaluation system for climate change adaptation activities; develop criteria for identifying priority projects and tasks related to climate change adaptation; develop criteria for assessing impacts, vulnerability, risks, and criteria for assessing losses and damages caused by climate change; and develop reports assessing impacts, vulnerability, risks, losses and damages caused by climate change at the national and sectoral levels.

Law on Environmental Protection

Circular No. 01/2022/TT-BTNMT on Guidelines for Implementation of Law on Environmental Protection regarding Response to Climate Change

Circular No. 07/2025/TT-BNNMTT regulating the decentralisation and delimitation of state management authorities in the field of the environment and climate change

Circular No. 09/2026/TT-BNNMTT amending Circular No. 02/2022/TT-BNNMTT and Circular No. 07/2025/TT-BNNMTT

<ol>
<li>Pursuant to article 1, this Circular elaborates on provisions of the <a href="https://climate-laws.org/geographies/vietnam/laws/law-on-environmental-protection-no-72-2020-qh14" target="_self">Law on Environmental Protection</a> and the <a href="https://climate-laws.org/geographies/vietnam/policies/decree-no-06-2022-nd-cp-on-mitigation-of-green-house-gas-ghg-emissions-and-protection-of-ozone-layer" target="_self">Decree</a> prescribing mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and ozone layer protection. The Circular comprises 5 Chapters:General provisions;</li>
<li>Assessment of impacts, vulnerability, risks, loss and damage caused by climate change;</li>
<li>Verification of GHG inventory results and GHG emissions mitigation;</li>
<li>List and guidelines on use, collection, transport, recycling, reuse and treatment of controlled substances; and</li>
<li>Implementation.</li>
</ol>

Circular No. 11/2025/VBHN-BNNMT on Guidelines for Assessment of Climate Change Impacts

Date issued

This Circular details regulations for the implementation of the Law on Environmental Protection regarding climate change response, specifically concerning the assessment of impacts, vulnerability, risks, losses and damages from climate change based on climate change scenarios published by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, for investment projects. There are provisions regarding the calculation of the value of loss and damage caused by climate change, in monetary terms.

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UNCCD Submissions

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UNCBD Submissions

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CCLW national policies

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Carbon Market Regulations Tracker offers standardised summaries and direct links to relevant regulations concerning baseline-and-crediting market activities, within voluntary carbon markets and those under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

Lai Châu

Lào Cai

Hà Giang

Cao Bằng

Sơn La

Yên Bái

Tuyên Quang

Lạng Sơn

Quảng Ninh

Hòa Bình

Ninh Bình

Thái Bình

Thanh Hóa

Nghệ An

Hà Tĩnh

Quảng Bình

Quảng Trị

Thừa Thiên-Huế

Quảng Nam

Kon Tum

Quảng Ngãi

Gia Lai

Bình Định

Phú Yên

Đắk Lắk

Khánh Hòa

Lâm Đồng

Ninh Thuận

Tây Ninh

Đồng Nai

Bình Thuận

Long An

Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu

An Giang

Đồng Tháp

Tiền Giang

Kiến Giang

Vĩnh Long

Bến Tre

Trà Vinh

Sóc Trăng

Bắc Kạn

Bắc Giang

Bạc Liêu

Bắc Ninh

Bình Dương

Bình Phước

Cà Mau

Hải Dương

Hà Nam

Hưng Yên

Nam Định

Phú Thọ

Thái Nguyên

Vĩnh Phúc

Điện Biên

Đắk Nông

Hậu Giang

Cần Thơ

Đà Nẵng

Hà Nội

Hải Phòng

Hồ Chí Minh

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Circular No. 01/2022/TT-BTNMT on Guidelines for Implementation of Law on Environmental Protection regarding Response to Climate Change

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Vietnam's Laws on Environmental Protection

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