Assessing the Impact of Climate Change on Vietnamese Businesses

Published: Sep 16, 2020

Executive Summary

Vietnam is facing enormous challenges due to climate change, with an increase in a variety of extreme climate events. Countless international studies have shown that Vietnam is one of the top 10 countries most seriously affected by climate change. With estimated economic losses of up to 1.5% of annual gross domestic product (GDP), climate change has made a negative impact on macroeconomic achievements, institutional reforms, and the assurance of Vietnam's environmental sustainability goals.

With the promulgation and implementation of the National Target Program to Respond to Climate Change in 2008 and the National Strategy on Climate Change in 2011, along with many other actions, it is evident that the Government of Vietnam has recognized the importance of responding to climate change. However, the gap between policy adoption and enforcement in this area is still relatively large, especially in the business community.

The business community plays an important role in Vietnam's socio-economic development process, but what is the impact of climate change on Vietnamese businesses? How are Vietnamese businesses coping with climate change? What are the trends in upcoming actions among businesses? Though these pieces of information are crucial for the process of developing and implementing policies or laws on climate change response in Vietnam, the answers remain lacking.

Originating from this reality, and with the support of the global courier group UPS (United States), Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and The Asia Foundation in Vietnam (TAF in Vietnam) have cooperated to conduct a wide-ranging enterprise survey on the topic of climate change in Vietnam. Attracting respondents from 10,356 enterprises across all 63 provinces and cities throughout the country, this remains Vietnam’s most comprehensive enterprise survey on this topic.