Energy Transition Strategies: Vietnam's Low-Carbon Development Pathway

This report is the first in a project on Energy Transition Strategies for Low-Carbon Development. The CSIS Energy Security and Climate Change Program hosted three workshops – one on each of our three case studies - that will be followed by white papers commissioned for each event and a synthesis report of the findings. For more information on the project, please see the project page.


Over the past two decades, Vietnam’s economic growth has been remarkable, and with that growth has come the need to balance an ever-growing demand for energy with the mounting need for carbon mitigation. Our goal in this project was to examine the extent to which economic growth and decarbonization (or avoiding carbon) could co-exist by examining policy success stories and identifying the political economy forces driving change.

This report and the white papers below are made possible by generous support from BP

Background White Papers

FORTHCOMING: Phase Change: Reducing Energy Intensity and Coal Use in Vietnam
David Dapice, Le Viet Phu, and Le Thai Ha

Urban Transport in Ho Chi Minh City: The Triumph of Market Forces
Du Huynh

Clean Industry: Renewable Energy in Manufacturing
Rachel Posner Ross and Evan Scandling

Access to Affordable, Reliable, Sustainable, and Modern Energy for All in Vietnam
Andrew Scott

Industrial Energy Efficiency in Vietnam: From Policy to Implementation
Ha Dang Son