Vietnam renewable energy

Hoang Thi Minh Hong is the fifth environmental activist to be arrested for evading taxes over the past two years.

In order to attract foreign investment in zero-carbon energy sources, the government will have to undertake serious structural reforms.

While a lot of details of the Just Energy Transition Partnership remain vague, one thing is clear: China will not be involved.

The country has emerged as a regional leader in renewables, but some thorny challenges lie ahead.

Nguy Thi Khanh, a recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize, is the latest climate change activist to be jailed on tax-related charges.

For middle-income countries like Vietnam climate change mitigation cannot come at the expense economic development and improving the lives of the poor.

As elsewhere, Vietnam's increasing reliance on energy imports has driven its green energy push.

Renewable energy is a fast-growing sector in Asian countries, broadly, and Vietnam could benefit from investment in the sector.

Hanoi needs to consider the environmental and strategic consequences of reliance on Chinese coal projects.