Introduction to the Best Available Techniques (BAT)
Hybrid Technical Meeting on Policies and Tools to establish BAT in Vietnam

Representatives of HSF and MONRE spoke with experts from OECD, UBA, UK Environment Agency, and the National Institute of Environmental Research of Korea

HSF

An increasing number of countries use BAT as a tool to establish evidence-based environmental permit conditions for industrial installations to prevent and control industrial pollution. It aims to ensure an elevated level of human health and environmental protection. BAT are state-of-the-art techniques that are developed at a scale that enables implementation under economically and technically viable conditions. On 30 September 2022, during MONRE’s study visit to the OECD facilitated by HSF, the Vice Minister, H.E. Dr Vo Tuan Nhan, of the Ministry for Natural Resources and Environment and Ms. Jo Tyndall, Director of the Environment Directorate of OECD has agreed to organise a series of capacity-building workshops on BAT approaches by the OECD Secretariat and its Expert Group on BAT.

The hybrid technical meeting on 15th May was designed to foster the participants’ understanding of BAT and to exchange BAT approaches from the UK, Germany, India and Korea. It presented how BAT is established and shared experiences from the above countries. The meeting involved representatives from the OECD Secretariat, HSF Vietnam, MONRE, and the Expert group on BAT (UK, Germany and South Korea). The participants acquired more insights into the conceptual details of BAT and the best practices in countries like India, Germany, South Korea and the UK for various industrial sectors. They also explored the challenges and opportunities of applying BAT in Vietnam, especially regarding emission levels for each industry, environmental licensing, and integrated permits, etc. In his closing remarks, Mr Nguyen Thuong Hien, Deputy Director General of Department of Environment, MONRE, kindly asked HSF and OECD to support the department’s effort in securing the BAT implementation roadmap as stipulated in the Decree No. 08/2022/NĐ-CP detailing a number of articles of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020.