Background 

Friday 24th of March, VSEA and MEC co-organized a talk show about options for energy development in Vietnam for the future. This talk show was divided in two: a talk with interventions of experts, and a panel discussion with all the participants. During this talk, the speakers exposed to the public (mainly journalists, experts, scientists but also individuals interested in the question) the issues and challenges for the future of Vietnam in terms of energy. The talks were focused on coal-fired thermal power plants, with a comparison between Vietnam and other developing countries such as India or China, which are pioneers in the field of renewable energy. The risks of the coal fired thermal power plants have been exposed, as well as the potentials in Vietnam in terms of renewable energy and the importance of a switch towards those energies for the future. Energy transition trend in the world (developed and developing countries), energy finance, energy development related to other economic sectors, energy development to ensure health and environment were the main topics of this half day talk. The interventions during the panel discussion have mainly focused on the challenge that this energetic transition represents for Vietnam, in terms of economic opportunities as well as security (food security, energy security, environmental security…) and sustainability.