Viet Nam is among the countries most severely affected by climate change, facing rising temperatures and increasingly frequent, intense, and prolonged heatwaves. These conditions strain public health, reduce labour productivity, and threaten socio-economic stability. In 2023, Viet Nam recorded its highest-ever temperature of 44.2°C, while 2024 was officially the hottest year on record—underscoring the urgency of enhancing urban resilience to extreme heat.
Preliminary analysis from Viet Nam’s National Cooling Action Plan (NCAP) projects a 34% increase in cooling demand by 2030 compared to 2020 levels. By 2081–2100, heatwave durations could reach 120–180 days annually. Productivity losses from heat stress are predicted to peak at 47%, while heat-related hospitalisations could rise by 14%. Furthermore, urban heat islands are already driving land surface temperatures up to 5°C higher in city centres compared to surrounding rural areas.
In response, the Government of Viet Nam has proactively integrated sustainable cooling into its legal framework, national policies, and development planning, aligning with broader climate commitments, including its updated Nationally Determined Contributions and the Global Cooling Pledge.
On 11 June 2024, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 496/QD-TTg, approving the National Plan for the Management and Phase-out of Ozone-Depleting Substances and Controlled Greenhouse Gases. The Plan outlines a comprehensive roadmap to advance sustainable cooling nationwide, including the following key measures:
Enhancing Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) to improve cooling equipment efficiency by 50% by 2030
Promoting passive cooling strategies in buildings—such as natural ventilation, shading, insulation, energy-efficient and reflective materials—and nature-based solutions at the urban scale, such as urban greening
Piloting and scaling up low-carbon cooling technologies and phasing out ozone-depleting substances using innovative approaches like Cooling-as-a-Service
These coordinated actions are expected to cut 11.2 million tons of CO₂-equivalent by 2045. Viet Nam has also institutionalised “sustainable cooling” through Decree No. 119/2025/NĐ-CP, integrating it into national climate policy and legal frameworks to support its goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
Complementing these domestic policy achievements, international cooperation plays a crucial role in accelerating Viet Nam’s transition to efficient, low-carbon cooling solutions. The Department of Climate Change (DCC), under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (formerly part of MONRE prior to government restructuring), collaborates closely with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) on the project Sustainable Urban Cooling in Viet Nam’s Cities.
This project supported the pilot cities of Can Tho and Tam Ky in developing and formally adopting comprehensive Urban Cooling Action Plans (UCAPs), integrating sustainable cooling and extreme heat solutions into municipal planning frameworks. It also catalysed significant financing for sustainable urban cooling interventions—spurring investments in pilot projects and cooling activities through the Viet Nam Environment Protection Fund (VEPF).
Against this backdrop, the final meeting on Sustainable Urban Cooling in Viet Nam’s Cities, co-hosted by DCC, UNEP, and GGGI within the framework of the Cool Coalition, served as a strategic platform to consolidate key project achievements, disseminate practical lessons learned, and explore actionable pathways for scaling up sustainable urban cooling nationwide.