Environment Dialogue on Sustainable Development Challenged by Haiphong City

Environment Dialogue on Sustainable Development Challenged by Haiphong City

In Haiphong City, a port city in northern Vietnam, a tense debate over economic development and environmental protection is currently underway. The city has made it clear that it will not sacrifice the environment for economic growth, and in developing industrial parks, it is seeking to shift away from the traditional model of mass production and mass consumption. City leaders stress that economic acceleration and environmental sustainability are not opposing concepts, but rather complementary, and position the introduction of renewable energy as a prerequisite for the industrial base.

Gathered here are government officials, business executives, and international experts. The administration will show that it is not merely concerned with job creation, but also with technology transfer and the introduction of green technology when accepting foreign capital. Local companies, on the other hand, openly express their concerns about cost increases, but behind these concerns is a shared understanding that they must meet environmental standards in order to maintain international competitiveness.

At the center of the discussion is the expansion of the share of renewable energy. In addition to solar and wind power generation, waste power generation and biomass utilization are also being considered, and the concept of designing the industrial park itself as an "eco-industrial park" is discussed. In contrast, international experts present the recycling-oriented industrial models of Germany and Scandinavia as leading examples and emphasize the possibility of long-term investment payback.

This dialogue will not end with mere slogans. The participants acknowledge that "the era of development by externalizing environmental costs is over," and rather seek to find ways to transform environmental considerations into competitiveness. The Haiphong discussion mirrors the challenges common to developing countries, while posing the question, "Can sustainable development be realistically achieved?