Renewable Energy Ambition Is Rising. But Is the Region Ready?
- Luna Sita
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Vietnam’s renewable energy ambition is entering a more demanding phase.
The Revised Power Development Plan VIII, approved under Decision 768/QD-TTg on 15 April 2025, targets renewable energy sources excluding hydropower to reach 28–36% by 2030, while planning offshore wind capacity of 6,000–17,032 MW to become operational between 2030 and 2035 (1) (2).
These figures show ambition. But behind every renewable energy target is a practical question: who will plan, build, operate, maintain, regulate, finance, and monitor the transition?
That question matters both for Vietnam, and for Southeast Asia. The 8th ASEAN Energy Outlook (3) describes the region as a major driver of global energy demand growth, while noting that Vietnam continues to lead this process in Southeast Asia as the region’s largest renewable power market. However, this regional momentum also presents a significant challenge: the expansion of renewable energy requires workforce, institutions, financing systems, training pathways, and social protections that can keep pace with the growth.
This is where the Green Economy Tracker becomes useful. It helps move the conversation beyond headline targets and inquires whether countries have the suitable policy framework needed to support a greener and fairer economy. The Tracker benchmarks 21 green economy policies across themes such as governance, finance, sectors, just transition, and nature.
For Vietnam, this means asking not just the ambition of renewable energy targets, but also assess whether the country is prepared to implement those targets inclusively.
Energy Transition Starts with Skills
The initial aspect of being prepared for renewable energy is focusing on people.
Vietnam will need technicians, engineers, project managers, planners, trainers, safety officers, maintenance workers, and local service providers who can support different parts of the clean energy value chain. These jobs require technical knowledge, but also practical experience, safety awareness, certification, and training that reflect real industry demand.
This is where Vietnam faces a clear challenge. According to VnEconomy, Vietnam’s workforce aged 15 and above reached 53 million in the first half of 2025, but only 29% of workers were trained with degrees or certificates. The same report also notes concerns about shortages of workers trained in green skills, particularly among SMEs (4).
This does not mean Vietnam lacks the potential. It means the skills system has to accelerate and become integrated with the renewable energy market. IRENA urgently warns that the rapid pace of renewable energy capacity additions is outpacing skilled-workforce development globally, a gap that is particularly sharp in Vietnam due to the speed of planned scale-ups (5).
Technical and vocational education and training institutions, universities, non-formal training providers, certification bodies, and employers all have a role to play. But training curricula cannot be designed in isolation. The needs to match the actual jobs being created in solar, wind, hydropower, storage, grid development, energy efficiency, and related renewable energy services.
A crucial question for Vietnam is: Are training systems adequately preparing individuals for the jobs required by the energy transition?
Green Jobs Need to Be Decent, Safe, and Inclusive
Renewable energy is often presented as a source of green jobs. But green jobs should not only be counted by numbers. They should also be evaluated based on their quality.
A job in the renewable energy sector should be safe, fairly paid, accessible, and protected. Workers need clear contracts, occupational safety and health protection, opportunities for progression, and access to social protection.
This matters because renewable energy work can involve construction, installation, field deployment, operations, maintenance, subcontracting, and project-based employment. Without proper safeguards, the transition could expand clean energy infrastructure while still leaving workers exposed to insecure or unsafe working conditions.
The International Labour Organization frames just transition as a mean to create decent jobs, support sustainable enterprises, improve workplace safety, expand social protection, and uphold labour rights (6). That framing is important for Vietnam because the energy transition will affect not only new renewable energy workers, but also workers and communities linked to fossil fuel and carbon-intensive sectors.
Social Protection is Key Component of Energy Transition
As the green economy evolves, some workers will need to transition from carbon-intensive sectors into new types of employment. Others may need retraining, income support, career guidance, or relocation assistance. Low-income households may also need support to manage affordability concerns as energy systems change.
Vietnam’s Green Economy Tracker profile highlights that the National Green Growth Strategy and Power Development Plan VIII acknowledge workforce transformation and support for vulnerable groups. It also points to measures such as training, job relocation, energy affordability for low-income household. But the profile also finds that Vietnam’s social protection system still relies mainly on existing welfare and insurance systems, with limited evidence of new social protection approaches directly linked to the green transition.
This matters because a transition can be technically successful but socially incomplete.
If workers and communities are not supported through change, renewable energy expansion may create new opportunities while also deepening existing inequalities. A fair transition needs policies that anticipate disruption before it becomes a social problem.
Institutions Need to Work Together
A successful energy transition process also depends on institutional coordination.
Energy institutions may set targets. Education and training systems prepare workers. Labour institutions shape job quality and workers’ protection. Finance institutions influence investment. Local governments affect permitting, community engagement, and implementation. Social protection agencies help manage risks for workers and vulnerable groups.
If these institutions work separately, renewable energy plans may remain strong on paper but weak in delivery.
Vietnam’s Green Economy Tracker profile describes the country’s green growth and climate frameworks as extensive and ambitious, but also points to uneven and fragmented implementation across ministries. That is why coordination should be treated as part of renewable energy transition process, not as an administrative detail.
Why Vietnam Matters for Southeast Asia region
Vietnam’s experience matters beyond its national context.
Southeast Asian countries do not have same a starting points with regards to the energy transition. They have different energy systems, labour markets, industrial structures, fiscal capacities, and political priorities. There is no single points of reference for renewable energy transition.
But countries can learn from each other.
Vietnam offers an interesting case because it combines high renewable energy ambition with real implementation challenges: workforce development; institutional coordination; micro, small, and medium enterprises inclusion; social protection; and the need to connect green growth planning with practical delivery.
Southeast Asia’s clean energy transition requires tailored approaches that reflect both regional and national circumstances, and that cooperation through ASEAN and international partnerships can help accelerate policy action and financing support (3). This is where Vietnam’s Green Economy Tracker profile can support a wider regional conversation around the energy transition processes.
So, is the region ready?
Vietnam’s case suggests that Southeast Asia is moving in the right direction, but readiness remains uneven. Renewable energy ambition is clearly rising, and policy frameworks are expanding. Yet ambition alone does not guarantee delivery.
The real test is whether the systems behind the targets can keep pace. This means preparing workers with the right skills, ensuring green jobs are decent and safe, strengthening social protection, improving coordination across institutions, and making sure the transition is inclusive for communities and businesses.
For Southeast Asia, the lesson is clear: clean energy growth cannot be measured only by megawatts or investment targets. A greener and fairer transition also depends on the people and systems that make those targets possible.
Visit Vietnam’s Green Economy Tracker profile to explore the evidence behind the scores and review the sources. The Tracker is a crowd-sourced platform, which means its value depends on people contributing new evidence, updated legislation, and national policy developments. A greener and fairer economy requires more than ambitious targets; it also requires participation, implementation, transparency, and continuous public learning. You can help keep the profile current by clicking the “Have Your Say” button and sharing relevant information or feedback.
This article was contributed by su-re.co and IIED Europe to strengthen public understanding, participation, and evidence-based discussion around the Green Economy Tracker, a policy analysis platform developed by the Green Economy Coalition. Stay tuned for the next blog in this series.
References
Nguyen Hanh, V. (2025, April 17). Vietnam revises PDP8: Key targets of the National Power Development Plan. Vietnam Briefing. https://www.vietnam-briefing.com/news/vietnam-revises-pdp8-key-targets-of-the-national-power-development-plan.html
Watson Farley & Williams. (2025, April 23). Vietnam makes major updates to Power Development Plan VIII. https://www.wfw.com/articles/vietnam-makes-major-updates-to-power-development-plan-viii/
ASEAN Centre for Energy. (2024). 8th ASEAN energy outlook (2023–2050). https://aseanenergy.org
Ngoc, L. (2025, October 11). Green economy needs green skills. VnEconomy. https://en.vneconomy.vn/green-economy-needs-green-skills.htm
International Renewable Energy Agency, & International Labour Organization. (2024). Renewable energy and jobs: Annual review 2024. International Renewable Energy Agency. https://www.irena.org/Publications
International Labour Organization. (n.d.). Just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies. https://www.ilo.org/topics-and-sectors/just-transition-towards-environmentally-sustainable-economies-and-societies
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