The government is drafting amendments to the Law on Environmental Protection. The aim is to lower traffic emissions and improve urban air quality, a topic that matters for anyone living in a busy city.

The draft legislation proposes defining low‑emission zones as areas where measures are introduced to reduce emissions, primarily from transport, with the aim of improving air quality and protecting public health. These zones must meet air‑quality and health standards while fitting existing urban planning and traffic management.

To support the zones, the government will develop preferential policies, financial support and other incentives for public transport and vehicles powered by renewable energy, as well as for low‑fuel‑consumption or zero‑emission models. The incentives are intended to encourage a shift away from high‑emission, fossil‑fuel‑powered vehicles.

The draft law allows real‑time environmental monitoring data to be used as legal evidence for administrative penalties, and it adds safeguards to prevent software manipulation of that data. These measures aim to keep the data objective, accurate and traceable.

The draft also introduces a provision holding chairpersons of provincial‑level People’s Committees responsible for pollution occurring in their jurisdictions, calling for clear and fair accountability. The committee said the revisions would help translate the 14th Party Congress’s resolution on green, circular and low‑carbon development into law, supporting Vietnam’s net‑zero emissions goal by 2050.