Vietnam's International Funding Initiative for Clean Energy Advances Amidst Detention of Climate Activists

Tran Phuong Thao is concerned about her husband's health as she cares for their 2-year-old son, who was just two weeks old when the environmental lawyer was arrested for tax evasion in 2021.

Danh Dinh Bach, weakened by a hunger strike, is currently serving a 5-year sentence on charges that he and his supporters believe were meant to silence his advocacy for stronger action from Vietnam's Communist leaders on climate change.

Prior to being detained, Bach, a prominent Vietnamese environmental lawyer, dedicated years to assisting communities impacted by development projects and environmental destruction.

He also participated in a climate defenders campaign urging the government to reduce its proposed coal power expansion to fulfill the country's energy requirements. However, their efforts to influence the government have resulted in significant personal sacrifices. Since 2021, at least six individuals, including NGO workers, researchers, and technical experts, have been detained, with all but one facing charges of tax evasion.

The six individuals were not activists against the state; some were actively involved in the government's energy transition at the time of their arrests, as reported by rights activists. "They were professionals running nonprofits, not aligned with an anti-state ideology, and were cooperating within the confines of the government's regulations for civil society," said Ben Swanton, director of the 88 Project, a human rights advocacy organization in Vietnam, in an interview with CNN.

He claimed that they were singled out due to their ability to organize NGOs into effective advocacy groups that challenge the Communist Party’s control over policymaking.

The Vietnamese government has rejected allegations that it specifically targeted the six individuals for their activism.

Danh Dinh Bach, a Vietnamese environmental lawyer and human rights defender who is now in jail.

Credit: Tran Phuong Thao

Vietnam, governed by a single party under a Communist regime, has a significant record of imprisoning political activists and enforcing strict limitations on civil society. According to the World Justice Project 2023 index, the country is ranked 87th out of 142 nations in terms of rule of law. Additionally, Vietnam is currently rated as the third worst in the world for press freedom, trailing only behind North Korea and China, as reported by Reporters Without Borders.

Vietnam, like numerous other Asian countries, faces severe impacts from the climate crisis, including scorching heatwaves, prolonged droughts, destructive flooding and hazardous pollution. In addition, the country relies heavily on coal, with 45% of its energy sourced from this fossil fuel.

And while Vietnam has made significant pushes into renewable energy in recent years, especially around solar, fossil fuels remain part of its power plan beyond 2030.

The jailed climate defenders

Vietnam's negotiations for a $15.8 billion international financing deal to transition to clean energy were interrupted by the arrests of six climate defenders. The Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), announced in December 2022, aimed to provide vital funding for Vietnam to achieve its climate targets, including reaching net zero emissions by 2050.

At the COP28 climate summit in Dubai on December 1, the blueprint to put the JETP funding deal in motion was unveiled by Vietnams Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. It was hailed by its backers in the International Partners Group, which includes the United Kingdom, European Union, United States and Canadian governments, among others, as an "important first step."

Prime Minister of Vietnam Chinh Pham Minh spoke to national delegations during the High-Level Segment for Heads of States and Governments at COP28, the UN Climate Change Conference, which took place at the UNFCCC in Dubai Exhibition Center, United Arab Emirates on December 2, 2023.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunk stated that it would "unlock the vital finance needed to accelerate Vietnam's transition." European Commission President Ursula von der Leyan praised it as a "great milestone." And US climate envoy John Kerry said the US would "continue to support Vietnam in this important endeavor."

Surprisingly, none of the leaders in their statements mentioned Vietnam's detention of environmental workers and activists, despite earlier expressing concern for their wellbeing, whose work paved the way for the deal to become a reality.

Bach, along with journalist Mai Phan Loi and lawyer Bach Hun Duong, were arrested for their involvement in the Vietnam Sustainable Energy Alliance, which aimed to advocate for a shift in Vietnam's energy policy. Another key member, Nguy Thi Khanh, was also arrested in January 2022.

One of their main efforts was to bring attention to the contrast between Vietnam's bold climate goals on the international platform and the reality on the ground: a proposed national power development plan that would permit the further growth of coal-powered energy.

Khanh, a leading climate activist in Vietnam, received the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize in 2018 for her work with the Green Innovation and Development Centre (GreenID), collaborating with the government to revise the country's energy plan. However, in June 2022, she was convicted of tax evasion and is currently serving a two-year prison sentence.

Executive director of Green ID Nguy Thi Khanh at the NGO's headquarters in Hanoi.

Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty Images

Two additional climate activists were arrested this year: Hoang Thi Minh Hong, an Obama Foundation scholar with over a decade of experience leading environmental campaigns, and Ngo Thi To Nhien, a specialist in green energy.

In September, Hong, a climate change and wildlife advocate through her NGO CHANGE, was sentenced to three years in prison for tax evasion. Nhien, an executive director of an energy transition think tank, was working with the Vietnamese government and UNOPS before her arrest.

She had recently collaborated with multiple international organizations such as the UN, World Bank, EU, and the Asian Development Bank.

Nhien stands accused of "misappropriating documents from an organization" by the state-owned Electricity of Vietnam, as stated by Lieutenant General To An Xo, spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Security, as reported in state media.

Nhien and her organization played a critical role in offering technical and policy guidance for the creation of the JETP funding deal, as reported by the Vietnam Climate Defenders Coalition, a collective of rights organizations and NGOs advocating for the release of the activists.

A recent inquiry conducted by the 88 Project uncovered that the climate defenders were targeted for political motives and that the Vietnamese government employed tax laws to suppress their voices.

This handout photo released by Hoang Vinh Nam shows his wife, Vietnamese environment activist Hoang Thi Minh Hong, in An Giang province on September 5, 2022.

Even in prison, authorities are trying to silence Bach, Thao claims, as his phone calls are monitored and disconnected when he discusses his well-being or the conditions of his imprisonment.

She stated that he has been rejecting the meals provided by the prison to make a statement about the conditions, and instead only consumes food she brings in, such as ramen noodles eaten with cold water. He had previously gone on a hunger strike earlier this year.

When Thao visited the prison where Bach is detained, she claimed to have observed "bruising and deep wounds" on his body, which she believes were caused by prison staff.

CNN contacted the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a statement on Bach's arrest and status, but has not yet received a response. Khanh and Loi were released in May and September, respectively. Bach Hun Duong was expected to be released in September, but rights groups are unable to confirm if this has occurred.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Pham Thu Hang stated in an October press conference that Vietnam completely rejects false information with malicious intentions regarding their crime fighting and prevention activities, as well as their external relations, according to state media. She also mentioned that the cases were handled in accordance with Vietnam's laws, as reported by state media.

CNN has requested additional comment from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The financing deal

The main focus of the six climate defenders was to advocate for government policy changes regarding fossil fuels and the transition to renewable energy. This transition is crucial in reducing planet-warming pollution and mitigating the severe impacts of the human-induced climate crisis.

Vietnam has been identified as one of the top five countries most at risk from climate change by the World Bank. Similar to many other Southeast Asian countries, Vietnam's greenhouse gas emissions have been increasing to meet the growing energy needs of its population.

More than ten years ago, wealthier, industrialized nations, who bear a larger responsibility for creating the crisis, committed to providing a minimum of $100 billion annually to assist poorer and middle-income countries in initiating their shift to clean energy. However, this goal has yet to be achieved.

The establishment of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) was intended to remedy this shortfall. In addition to Vietnam, JETPs have also been signed in South Africa and Indonesia.

Following the aftermath of Typhoon Molave, municipal workers and residents collaborate to tidy up the streets in the old city of Hoi An, a UNESCO world heritage site, after the waters have receded on October 30, 2020.

Manan Vatsyayana/AFP/Getty Images

However, according to some experts, Vietnam's plan for the JETP may not effectively decrease emissions. This is due to its reliance on coal power stations and unproven or expensive technologies. These technologies include carbon capture and storage, which has not been successfully tested at a large scale, and co-firing with ammonia and biomass, which involves replacing some coal used for combustion and is also unproven at a commercial scale.

Leo Roberts, an expert on transitioning from fossil fuels at the think tank E3G, stated that under the JETP, Vietnam plans to keep coal plants operating, but at reduced capacity. According to him, this approach sends a strong signal to the market that the shift to renewable energy is not progressing as quickly and extensively as needed.

CNN has reached out to Vietnams Ministry of Natural Recourses and Environment, which is leading implementation of the deal, for comment.

No just transition without civil society

If people like Khanh, Bach, and Nhien and their organizations are not involved, Vietnam's ability to significantly reduce its carbon emissions will be severely hindered, warns Guneet Kaur, environmental defender campaign coordinator at International Rivers and part of the Vietnam Climate Defenders Coalition. Without their oversight, there is a risk of greenwashing the climate financing and energy transition processes, further marginalizing communities from the Global South if a just transition is not implemented.

The arrests have already had a "chilling effect" on anyone looking to contribute to JETP's success, she noted.

The COP28 summit in Dubai emphasized climate financing, with rights groups calling for human rights protections and the inclusion of civil society in deal frameworks.

The Vietnam Climate Defenders Coalition has expressed disappointment in the lack of action from stakeholders to secure the release of activists and prevent further arrests. They are urging the International Partners Group, UNOPS, UNDP, and other parties involved in the deal and its financing to advocate for increased protection for climate defenders.

This aerial view taken on September 25, 2022, shows solar panels at Sao Mai solar energy plant in An Giang province.

AFP/Getty Images

UNOPs and UNDP referred to statements from the UN human rights office and UN Environment regarding the detention of activists.

The UNHCR statement in September emphasized the importance of allowing human rights defenders and environmental organizations to participate freely in shaping climate and environmental policies for a just and sustainable transition to green energy.

CNN has also made inquiries for input from important figures within the International Partners Group, such as the US climate envoys office and the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, but has not yet received a response.

Steam and smoke billow from the Belchatow Power Station, fueled by an open-pit coal mine below, on November 29, 2018 in Rogowiec, Poland. With an output of 5,472 megawatts, the Belchatow station is the world's largest lignite coal-fired power station, emitting around 30 million tonnes of CO2 per year. The United Nations COP 24 climate conference is set to commence on December 2 in nearby Katowice, just two hours south of Belchatow. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

The pledges made during climate talks are insufficient to restrict global warming to 1.5 degrees, according to the IEA. The European Commission referred CNN to the IPG statement from December 1, which announced the rollout of financing deals. The statement emphasized the importance of ensuring the active involvement of civil society in a transparent manner at all stages of the JETP to ensure a just and inclusive transition.

Despite the publicly stated concerns of human rights groups over the detained activists, the JETP was launched with the full endorsement of international partners. Thao, who is advocating for her husband's release, remains hopeful that he will be home with his son soon.