Good news is coming for environmentalists this week, as city officials have pledged to reduce Saigon's carbon emissions by 10% by 2020.
At the recent International Symposium for Developing Low-Carbon Cities conference, Saigon's Steering Committee for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation announced plans to handle the city's growing pollution, reports Vietnam News.
Looking forward to 2020, city officials aim to reduce local emissions by 10.5% themselves but could bump that figure up to 19.1% with external support.
For now, the committee is planning to focus on the energy, transportation and industry sectors in hopes of reducing their emissions by 18.5%, 9.3% and 7.9%, respectively.
Under the current emissions reduction program, for instance, Saigon will use 11 million tons of oil instead of 12 million tons. With consumption levels sent ever higher by development – the city consumed 7 million tons of oil in 2013 – this is a step toward mitigating future pollution and climate issues.
If all goes according to plan, Saigon will have no more than 42.5 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions by 2020, rather than the projected 52.2 million it stands to have at present.
Furthermore, the committee says, transportation upgrades will cut as many as 433,500 tons of CO2 from the city's emissions, particularly with the help of Saigon's currently beleaguered metro, as a full two percent of current motorbike drivers are expected to use the subway once it opens, as well as the city's forthcoming Bus Rapid Transit system.
