Under its recently-issued circular, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAE) has regulated the management and operation of the National Registry System for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission quotas and carbon credits.
The National Registry System is designed to enhance management and facilitate organizations and agencies participating in GHG emission reduction activities, as well as the trading and offsetting of carbon credits.
The system will serve as a centralized database to record and store critical information, including: lists of owners, quantities, domestic identification codes, serial numbers, current status, and a full history of all activities performed within the registry.
The registry will be integrated and exchange data with carbon trading platforms, as well as custody and payment systems. All operational requests from registered accounts must be authenticated via the National Public Service Portal. Once verified, these transactions carry a legal validity equivalent to documents signed by the account holder’s legal representative.
Under the new regulations, each agency or organization is entitled to only one registered account on the National Registry System, even if they oversee multiple facilities listed for GHG emission quota allocation. Organizations will use this single account to manage, track, and fulfill compliance obligations for each of their respective facilities.
The account identification code will be linked directly to the entity’s tax identification number. To ensure smooth coordination and operation, account holders are responsible for registering and maintaining at least two contact persons to act as liaisons with the Ministry through the system.
Facilities are permitted to conduct transactions such as transfers, borrowing, and using carbon credits to offset GHG emissions in accordance with the law. The Circular also provides clear guidelines for the de-registration and handling of carbon credits or emission quotas that are revoked or failed to meet compliance obligations.
The MAE is the sole authority empowered to issue and manage domestic codes and serial numbers for GHG emission quotas and carbon credits on the National Registry.
Domestic codes are used to uniquely identify quotas or credits within Vietnamese territory. These are stored as electronic data and will not be re-issued once canceled. Specifically, GHG emission quota codes will consist of 6 characters, while carbon credit codes will consist of 9 characters.
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