The country is now aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 9% by 2030.

VnExpress reports that in 2015, the target had been set at 8%. Now, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved a revision to the Nationally Determine Contribution (NDC) figure, which aims to decrease carbon emissions by 83.9 million tons at the end of this decade, compared to 62.7 million tons under the previous goal.

An NDC denotes a country's effort to limit carbon emissions under the 2015 Paris Agreement, which aims to keep global temperatures from rising by 2°C above pre-industrial levels within this century.

According to VnExpress, signatories to the agreement must update their national NDC every five years. Vietnam's latest target also vows to improve climate change adaptation through better governance and preparation, particularly when it comes to natural disasters.

Last year, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture released a report stating that Vietnam could reduce its carbon emissions through several ways, including better land use practices and management of livestock feed.

Vietnam is the third-largest greenhouse gas emitter in Southeast Asia, following Indonesia and Thailand, and is already one of the most-impacted economies in the world when it comes to climate change, with major future harm predicted as well.

One potential step in the right direction was recently shared, as the upcoming Power Development Plan 8 may cancel seven planned thermal power plants and delay six more until the next decade.

[Photo via Flickr user Maurice Koop]