Speakers at the ‘Cooperating with Europe for Green Manufacturing Technologies’ conference organised on Tuesday in Binh Duong Province. Photo courtesy of the organiser
ASEAN needs to adopt green manufacturing technologies to make sustainable new products and services, an international conference in Vietnam’s Binh Duong province heard on March 23.
Dr Michael Braun, coordinator of the Enhanced Regional EU-ASEAN Dialogue Instrument project, told the “Cooperating with Europe for Green Manufacturing Technologies” conference that it is important to promote technological cooperation between the European and Southeast Asian blocs for mutual benefit.
ASEAN countries have emerged as important manufacturing hubs in global supply chains, he said.
“The growing demand for environmentally sound, resource- and energy-efficient products and manufacturing has created a hunger for new green manufacturing technologies.”
With its rich technology and research landscape, innovative enterprises and dedicated green growth strategies, Europe is a major source of such green technologies, he said.
For ASEAN member states, green technologies will help make the best possible use of their natural and energy resources and protect the health and well-being of workers and consumers.
National University of Singapore’s Reginald Tan Beng Hee said: “Binh Duong province is set to become the next destination for green technology transfer.”
Provincial Department of Science and Technology director Nguyen Viet Long said comprehensive transport infrastructure and quality human resources play a major role in attracting foreign investors with green manufacturing technologies.
The Vietnamese government needs to invest in improving infrastructure and offer incentives to promote the triple helix model of university-industry-government cooperation, he said.
Joanna Drake, deputy director of the European Commission’s (EC) Directorate-General for the Environment, said under the European Green Deal, the EU recognises that climate change and environmental degradation are a global existential threat.
To overcome the challenges, the EU needs a new growth strategy that would transform it into a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy in which there are no net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050, and economic growth is decoupled from resource use, she said.
The deal aims to make the EU’s economy sustainable by turning climate and environmental challenges into opportunities, focusing on investments in green technologies, sustainable solutions and innovative businesses, she said.
It also lays out a path for a sustainable transition that is socially fair and ensures “no person or place is left behind”, she said.
The EU therefore supports ASEAN and its member states with initiatives related to climate-change resilience and adaptation, environmental protection, and disaster preparedness and response, she added.
The two-day conference that began on March 22 is being held as part of the 2021 EU Industry Week organised by the provincial People’s Committee and the EC.
VIET NAM NEWS/ANN
