Vietnam's banking regulator is pushing green credit and carbon market development as tools to finance the country's net zero target. At an October 2026 workshop, Deputy Governor Nguyen Ngoc Canh said outstanding green credit reached over VND 856 trillion by mid-2026, up 9.87% from end of 2025, with agriculture, forestry, and green energy taking the largest shares. The State Bank of Vietnam sees carbon markets as a way to convert emission reductions into economic value, giving businesses extra revenue to invest in decarbonization and helping banks monitor environmental outcomes. The article notes that green credit alone is not enough and that capital market links and better implementation capacity are needed. For carbon market watchers, the story highlights how a central bank is integrating climate goals into credit policy, but it stops short of giving a timeline for carbon credit trading. The practical test will be whether measurement and verification keep pace with lending growth.
