VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERISTY OF HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS AND LAW FACULTY OF ECONOMIC LAW GRADUATION THESIS VIETNAM’S OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES IN GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE ISSUES WHEN PARTICIPATING IN NEW-GENERATION FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS Instructor : LL. Nguyen Minh Bach Tung Student : LE NGOC KIM NGAN Student ID code : K195022051 Ho Chi Minh City, April 2023 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERISTY OF HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS AND LAW FACULTY OF ECONOMIC LAW GRADUATION THESIS VIETNAM’S OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES IN GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE ISSUES WHEN PARTICIPATING IN NEW-GENERATION FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS Instructor : LL. Nguyen Minh Bach Tung Student : LE NGOC KIM NGAN Student ID code : K195022051 Ho Chi Minh City, April 2023 i DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby declare that this thesis was carried out by myself under the guidance of LL. Nguyen Minh Bach Tung; and that the work contained and its results are true by the author and have not violated research ethics.
In addition, any comments, analysis and data used by other authors, and organizations have been acknowledged, and explicitly cited. I will take full responsibility for any fraud detected in my thesis. Ho Chi Minh City, dated 10 April 2023 Author Le Ngoc Kim Ngan ii LIST OF ACRONYMS Full form Acronyms Free trade agreement FTA General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade GATT Gross domestic product GDP Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC Most-Favored Nation Treatment MFN National Treatment NT The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans- CPTPP Pacific Partnership The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement EVFTA Turkish Emergency and Disaster Response Agency AFAD United Nations Climate Change Conference of Parties COP United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity CBD United Nations Development Program UNEP United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change UNFCCC World Trade Organization WTO iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP .i LIST OF ACRONYMS.ii TABLE OF CONTENTS. Reason for choosing the topic.
Status of topic research. Purpose, object, and scope of the Thesis. Scientific significance and application value of the Thesis. The structure of Thesis.
OVERVIEW OF SOME GENERAL ISSUES ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AND CLIMATE CHANGE. An overview of environmental issues and climate change. Overview of the environment. Overview of climate change.
Overview of international treaties on environmental protection and combating climate change. The Vienna Convention in 1985 and The Montreal Protocol in 1987 on protecting of the Earth’s ozone layer. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992 (UNFCCC) and the Protocols on cutting greenhouse gas emissions. 16 CONCLUSION OF CHAPTER 1.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF REGULATIONS ON ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE. The current situation of climate change and its interaction with international trade. Impact of climate change on trade. The impact of trade on climate change.
Commitments in free trade agreements on environmental protection and climate change. Commitment of the CPTPP on environmental protection and climate change. Commitment of the EVFTA Agreement on environmental protection and combating climate change. 31 CONCLUSION OF CHAPTER 2.
VIETNAM’S REGULATION ON ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR VIETNAM IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMITMENTS ON CLIMATE CHANGE. Regulations on environmental law and prenventing climate change of Vietnam. Regulations on environmental law on response to climate change. Vietnam in efforts to fulfill international commitments on climate change response.
Comment on the effectiveness of the process of internalizing regulations on responding to climate change in Vietnamese law. Opportunities and challenges of Vietnam in the context of joining new generation free trade agreements. Recommendations for Vietnam to perfect the law when joining new- generation free trade agreements in the future. 44 CONCLUSION OF CHAPTER 3.
50 LIST OF REFERENCES. Reason for choosing the topic In recent studies, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have become two of the most polluted cities in the world, respectively, the world is increasingly suffering from the prolonged effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and every year, series of disasters and natural disasters stemming from climate change and environmental pollution. According to a report by the scientific research organization Climate Central, 96% of the world’s population, or 7.6 billion people, will be affected by climate change, from extreme heat to floods in 2022.1 The unpredictable effects of climate change or extreme weather events not only affect an individual country but also affect different countries in the region and the whole world. Therefore, since the 1980s of the 20th century, United Nations have made international treaties and requirements for international cooperation between countries on the protection of natural resources and prevent the effects of climate change in the context that the environment and climate on Earth are being seriously affected by production, business and human activities.
Vietnam is also one of the countries that have fully, actively and effectively joined the above commitments in recent years. As a country deeply affected by climate change, Vietnam is also taking practical and positive actions in participating in new-generation free trade agreements, which require members to participate in free trade agreements. Members must not only meet commercial requirements, but also meet environmental protection requirements. Joining these new generation free trade agreements will create significant opportunities and challenges for Vietnam’s extensive and comprehensive integration in the international 1 “2022 - The year of extreme weather phenomena, the world responds to climate change”, VTV News, https://vtv.vn/the-gioi/2022-nam-cua-cac-hien-tuong-thoi-tiet-cuc-doan-the-gioi-ung-pho-voi-bien-doi-khi-hau- accessed on 19 March 2023.
Therefore, the identification of opportunities and challenges in joining the new generation of free trade agreements as above, it is necessary to ensure comprehensiveness in both commercial and environmental aspects in national legislation. To do that, Vietnam needs to have the best research and preparation on perfecting the legal system on the environment and issues of responding to climate change, which is also the reason why the author chooses to do research on the topic “Vietnam’s opportunities and challenges in global climate change issues when participating in new-generation free trade agreements”. Accordingly, the purpose of the thesis is to propose proposals to improve Vietnam’s current environmental legal system to facilitate international trade integration in the future. Status of topic research 2.
Vietnamese research This topic in Vietnam has only appeared in Vietnam since the advent of new generation free trade agreements, marking a turning point for Vietnam in the process of integrating into international trade relations in the future. Some notable research projects include: 1. Nguyen Hong Thao (2005), “Trade and environmental issues when Vietnam joins WTO”, Journal of Legislative Studies, Issue 8, August 2005. This is one of the first research papers on the provisions of the first environmental law before Vietnam applied to join the WTO in 2007, the article clearly analyzes the difficulties and advantages that Vietnam can achieve when joining the WTO, besides the environmental relations, Vietnam is having to perfect the law.
Tran Viet Dung (2020), “Environmental regulations in EVFTA and CPTPP – Some recommendations to improve environmental legislation”, Hong Duc Publishing House. 3 This work studies the environmental issues specified in the two free trade agreements that Vietnam has joined, in which, analyzes the provisions that these two agreements have placed on Vietnam in the international trade integration. The extensive analysis of issues on the strengths and weaknesses of the author creates favorable conditions for the author to give his views and opinions recommendations to improve environmental legislation in Vietnam in line with international trends. Nguyen Quang Huy (2020), “Environmental commitments in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
Opportunities and challenges for Vietnam”, Mater’s Thesis, Vietnam National University of Hanoi. The topic focuses on studying the provisions of the CPTPP Agreement in order to identify specifically the obligations that Vietnam needs to perform related to natural resources and the environment; on that basis, review our country’s laws on natural resources and environment, analyze and evaluate to determine the appropriateness, contradictions, and issues that are still unclear and not regulated. Nguyen Lam Tram Anh (2021), "Constitutionalization of commitments on environment, response to climate change in CPTPP and EVFTA", Journal of Industry and Trade, Results of scientific research and technology application, Issue 4, February 2021. In order to successfully internalize the commitments linked with the plan, the author’s piece will outline the contents Vietnam has pledged on environmental issues.
However, with the size of a scientific article, the author has not been able to extensively analyze concepts and theoretical issues related to making commitments and regulations on environmental protection and response to environmental pollution and climate change. Nguyen Thu Trang (2022), “Impacts of CPTPP and EVFTA commitments on climate change to Vietnam's environmental law”, Journal of Industry and Trade, Results of scientific research and public application technology, No. In order to implement these two agreements, the paper reviews the effects of CPTPP and EVFTA on Vietnam’s environmental legislation, evaluates Vietnam’s environmental legal laws connected to climate change, and draws some conclusions from which Vietnam can improve the efficacy of these obligations. In general, Vietnamese studies focus on analyzing the provisions of the CPTPP and EVFTA in terms of environmental protection and response to climate change.
The relationship between the environment, climate change and trade or the impact of trade on climate change has not been analyzed specifically by other works. Philippe Sands, Jacqueline Peel, Adriana Fabra, Ruth MacKenzie (2018), Principles of International Environmental Law, Cambrigde University Press, 4th Edition. Principles of International Environmental Law examines each of the major areas of international environmental regulation in detail through chapters, examining the fundamental principles, organizational frameworks, and management strategies that underpin climate change, preservation of the atmosphere, protection of the oceans and fresh water, biodiversity, control of pollutants, and waste management. Miles et al (2001), Environmental Regime Effectiveness: Confronting Theory with Evidence, MIT Press.
This book investigates the reasons why some global environmental regimes are successful while others are not. It contrasts theory with facts and analyzes fourteen 5 case studies of international regimes using both qualitative and quantitative methods. It examines how a regime will be effective, what elements may influence effectiveness, and how variables are measured. It was found that the environmental modes actually outperformed what the book’s collective model had projected.
Ludivine Tamiotti (2009), Trade and Climate Change, WTO Publications. Using four distinct but linked perspectives the science of climate change, trade theory, multitasking attempts to address climate change, and national policies on climate change and their effects on trade, the report investigates the relationship between trade and climate change. Xiao Chen & Alan Woodland (2012), “International trade and climate change”, International Tax and Public Finance, published on 20 June 2012. The interaction between global trade, global trade policy, environmental policy, and climate change is briefly discussed in this article.
The emphasis is on how nations’ existence and international trade contribute to emissions that result in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations and, potentially, climate change, as well as how trade and environmental policies might be used to address this global externality. In general, foreign works have many analyzes of principles, theories, and even technical factors related to identifying and analyzing environmental regulations in international trade. Still, the analyzes analysis is informative and does not provide solutions, completeness, or internalization for member countries of free trade agreements. Therefore, in this research topic, the author has collected and consulted many opinions from previous studies to complete his research, and at the same time, supplement the parts that the above works not yet fully researched or left open.
Purpose, object, and scope of the Thesis 6 3. Purpose of the Thesis The report has the following purposes: Firstly, analyze and provide the necessary basic issues to understand the environment and climate change, and provide an overview of international treaties on environmental protection and climate change. Secondly, analyze the current status of climate change and the relationship between climate change, environment, and trade, also analyze and synthesize regulations of international organizations and countries in the implementing commitments on environment and climate change in new-generation free trade agreements.