On September 11, 2020, Viet Nam submitted their updated NDC to the UNFCCC. Targets had a small increase and the adaptation component is improved. The NDC is the first in this round to address loss and damage, a key issue for the country. Other advances also worth mentioning are increased sectoral coverage and developments on systems for tracking progress.

An analysis by the Climate Action Tracker (CAT) finds that the 2020 NDC has not yet represented a true progression in scaling up climate action, as it does not require additional efforts compared to current policies. Therefore, Viet Nam would be on track to overachieve its current targets. The NDC is still 67% higher than the emissions level in 2030.

According to the Checklist for the #NDCsWeWant and taking into account that Vietnam is a middle-income country with a relatively low emissions profile, our analysis concludes that the Vietnamese NDC has some way to go to become the NDC We Want.