Speech at Australia-Vietnam Green Economy Summit

Thank you Vice Chairman Hoan for your warm welcome and opening remarks. It’s wonderful to be here together in Ho Chi Minh City.

I know that many of you here today have been collaborating closely over many years. I want to thank you each of you for your contribution.

Having worked in both government and the private sector over the past two decades, I’ve observed that our best chance at making progress on any endeavour is to build broad coalitions for change.

It matters a lot that we come together today to further the work on how all of us – government, industry, finance and researchers – can advance collaboration between Australia and Vietnam on the path to net zero – an immense, task but one full of opportunity for our region if we can get it right.

I also of course want to thank Asialink and the Climateworks Centre for organising this Summit. I’ve read the papers that you’ve prepared over the last year. They are an excellent basis for today’s discussions – detailed, concrete, specific.

I also want to acknowledge Kristin Tilley, Australia’s Ambassador for Climate Change, and Charge d Affaires and Ho Chi Minh City Consul General Sarah Hooper, and the rest of our embassy team.

Thank you for your dedication to building closer ties between our two nations.

This relationship is one that Australia values, and we are now working closer than ever before – more on that later.

Climate Change and decarbonisation: A shared challenge

The impact of climate change is now a lived experience for many in our region.

Back home over this last summer, the weather was more than just a topic for small talk. It’s been a prompt for big questions. Once again we experienced fires, floods and significant storms. Australians are wondering aloud if this is what it will be like to live in a warmer world.

What we’ve seen reflects what scientists predicted a hotter climate might deliver. I note that 2023 was officially the world’s hottest year on record.

This isn’t merely an uncomfortable inconvenience. It matters to our health, our productivity, our communities and our economy.

I know the same conversations are happening here in Vietnam. Whether it be farmers in the Mekong Delta or residents right here in Ho Chi Minh City – lives and livelihoods are increasingly at risk.  

Our governments understand this.  

• Both our nations have committed to net zero emissions by 2050.
• Australia has committed to reducing our emissions to 43% below 2005 levels by 2030.
• Australia seeks to grow the share of renewable generation in our major electricity networks to 82% by 2030.
• Vietnam has committed to increasing renewable energy to at least 47% by 2030 with support from international partners.

We are on a shared journey, and while in many ways our countries are very different, we both understand that as we embark on this path, we must ensure the continued economic prosperity for our people.

For Vietnam, the picture looks good.

With a young population, a strong manufacturing sector and a globally integrated economy, the outlook for Vietnam’s economic growth is bright.

You are early adopters of technology. I only arrived last night, and have already noticed VinFast Electric vehicles on the streets. Like Australia – you’ve enthusiastically embraced renewables - across your energy system, Vietnam accounts for an impressive 69% of ASEAN’s solar and wind generation.

And your contribution to the clean energy transition is growing across Asia.

You’ve shown you can play a strong role in future energy supply chains.

Vietnam is Southeast Asia’s top solar PV supplier. It has the fourth largest two-wheeler EV market in the world. It is a lithium battery manufacturer and a developer of offshore wind projects overseas.

You are building the industries that will help power our region’s net zero transformation.

There’s no doubt that any change on this scale comes with great challenges, whether it is here, in Australia or elsewhere in the world.

But what is important is that the direction of travel is clear.

Clear to the international community.

Clear to international investors, local businesses, financiers, and entrepreneurs.

And clear to the next generation who are looking at the future skills they will need to succeed in a net zero economy.  

Australia’s domestic efforts

While our goal is the same, the path to net zero will differ for each of our countries.

But we can be confident that the future prosperity of both our countries will depend on engaging with the green economy, and the clean energy systems that power it.

Our government has a strong domestic agenda to decarbonise our economy and make the most of this transformation for our people.

But we are also committed to supporting our regional partners to reduce emissions and increase regional prosperity as the world decarbonises.

I want to talk a little about what we are doing at home before returning to what we can do together.

We’re taking the steps we need to decarbonise our electricity grid, and build the generation we need the power the industries of the future. Our Rewiring the Nation program commits $20 billion to modernise Australia’s power grid and accelerate its connection to renewables and storage, to drive down wholesale energy prices.

We’re working in partnership with industry and state and territory governments on this important program. Because if we can make this transition in our energy system, it opens up the path to so many other economic opportunities.

Our $2 billion Hydrogen Headstart program, which will provide revenue support for large-scale renewable hydrogen projects through competitive hydrogen production contracts.

This investment will accelerate the development of Australia’s hydrogen industry, act as a catalyst for new clean energy industries, and help Australia connect to new global hydrogen supply chains.

We are also working to build our solar PV manufacturing capabilities. Last month, Prime Minister Albanese announced a $1 billion investment in the Solar Sunshot program, which will support innovative manufacturing facilities in Australia across the solar supply chain - including polysilicon production, production of ingots, wafers, solar PV cells, and solar module assembly.

We are laying the foundation for Australia to become a renewable energy superpower - building export-scale clean energy industries to unlock opportunities and make our economy more productive, dynamic, and diverse.

We recognise the huge shifts needed to reorient an economy to one with advanced technology, services and highly skilled labour based on renewable energy.

This is broad-based economic transition, and it is hard.

The good news is that existing renewable and clean energy technologies are proven commercial solutions with many benefits.

They will ensure an orderly transition to clean energy while maintaining system reliability and supply.

They build resilience by reducing exposure to traditional energy markets.

And importantly they keep energy costs lower for our homes, businesses and industries.

Working regionally and globally

This transition is important for Australia’s energy and economic security. But it also supports the energy and economic security of our partners.

It means ensuring Australia remains a reliable energy supplier to the world, helping our partners realise their emissions reduction goals, and bolstering our resilience by diversifying global supply chains.

And it also means reducing our emissions, helping us avoid the worst effects of climate change, contributing to our security and stability.

A new era for Australia-Vietnam relations

We want to support our friends and partners in their transition to net zero.

With Vietnam, this means building on our long investment relationship that totalled $25.7 billion AUD in two way trade in 2022.

We are both charting a path to market for new offshore wind sectors.

We’re fortunate to have strong foundations to draw on - Australia and Vietnam have worked together on energy questions for many years.

In the 1990s experts from Australia - NSW and Victoria - supported Vietnam to establish what is the backbone of their modern-day electricity grid.

We also helped advise Vietnam when you established the first North-South 500Kv transmission grid that spans the country.

We have built trust over many decades, we are keen to be a partner of choice for Vietnam’s clean energy future.

Last month, our Prime Minister and His Excellency Mr Pham Minh Chính, announced a major upgrade of the Australia–Vietnam relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP).

It demonstrates our shared ambitious agenda across digital transformation and innovation, defence and security, economics and trade, and education.

But importantly, this CSP is the first of its kind to have a standalone pillar on Strengthening Climate, Environment and Energy Cooperation.

We have the expertise and technology to assist Vietnam with its transition needs and we’re ready to roll up our sleeves.

For example, the Australian Energy Regulator is sharing Australia’s experience of creating the regulatory settings necessary to catalyse the clean energy transition with the Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam.

We also have a range of energy technology services companies pursuing opportunities in Vietnam. Companies like Energy Exemplar, Village Energy, Gentrack and PowerLedger are bringing in cutting edge technology solutions and Australian know-how to support greater integration of renewables into the grid.

We have battery technology companies – like Thorion Energy or Magellan Power – establishing partnerships to explore the potential to combine Australian technology with Vietnamese manufacturing prowess.

And the the resources sector there are opportunities for Australia’s technologically advanced companies to bring their experiences to support Vietnamese mining and processing.

We have already made commitments to support this two-way partnership.

We have committed  $105 million to support sustainable economic development with a focus on enabling Vietnam to increase its uptake of clean energy and clean energy infrastructure and to update its mining law to attract foreign investment to develop Vietnam’s critical minerals resources.

Vietnam and Australia are also exploring opportunities to deepen cooperation on commodities, products, technologies and services associated with energy systems and carriers.

Through the CSP we’ll continue to explore opportunities for cooperation on climate action, carbon markets and the green economy.

It’s part of broader commitment to our region.

When our partners prosper, Australia prospers. And nowhere is this truer than in the clean energy transition.

At the recent Australia-ASEAN Special Summit in Melbourne, Australia announced a $2 billion Southeast Asia Investment Financing Facility.

The facility will provide loans, guarantees, equity and insurance for projects that would boost Australian trade and investment in Southeast Asia.

This includes projects that will support the region's clean energy transition and infrastructure development.

And this will be supplemented by ‘Investment Deals Teams’, which will include a Regional Hub here in Ho Chi Minh City.

A focus of these teams is to support Australian businesses seeking new opportunities in the region, especially those looking to Southeast Asia’s advanced manufacturing and technology sectors.

Conclusion

When our Prime Ministers jointly announced the CSP last month, they remarked how over the last 50 years our countries have built an enduring partnership.

It is a friendship based on trust, mutual respect, family and community ties and a shared vision for an open, stable and prosperous region.

Today we come together in that spirit.

Australia is committed to supporting the opportunities inherent in our respective clean energy transitions, to strengthen our economies and support our decarbonisation efforts.

I look forward to the outcomes of the summit and to your discussions as we have much more work to do.

Thank you.