Vietnam second stakeholder meeting on September 30, 2015 at Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST), Hanoi, Vietnam

The Vietnam 2nd stakeholder meeting was hosted by Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST) in Vietnam, on 30 September 2015. The participants attended the workshop from Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Industry and Trade, EE local manufacturers, EE wholesalers and retailers, EE products customers and other scientists of HUST.

Major EE policy in Vietnam was presented by Ms. Ngo To Nhien that did help the implementation of new EE standards and labeling in VN since 2011. Major challenges to the EE policy implementation during the last 5 years were identified such as low electricity price, high price of EE labeling products, fake goods/labels.

All participants took part in group discussion on opportunities and barriers to EE improvement for MECON households. The participants suggested that MECON should had (1) more access to electricity due to a high rate of electrification in most rural areas in Vietnam; (2) Despite having a low income, minimum energy requirement for a better life was found necessary; (3) The government had initiated some upstream subsidy mechanism to promote the use of EE products. The barriers of EE technology in Vietnam consisted of (1) Lack of EE information and knowledge of wholesalers, retailers and end-users/customers; (2) Short-sighted purchasing behavior from customers; (3) There still existed fake EE products/labels.

From the above, all participants continued brainstorming on impacts of EE policies and institutions as well as the needed implementation steps for future.