Vietnamese officials are pushing back against an overly rushed green transition. At a VIR seminar on October 14, the State Bank of Vietnam's deputy credit director said green credit reached VND856 trillion ($33.5 billion) by the end of June 2026, but that banks do not lack capital. The main bottleneck is assessing and monitoring green projects, which require standards, technical conditions and proof of environmental impact. A deputy general director at Vietnam Exchange added that the carbon market should be judged by price signals, not early trading volumes. He called for a solid measurement, reporting and verification system, transparent trading and market surveillance so companies can price emissions costs. He also argued green bonds should come before green equity labels, since verifying how money is used is easier than deciding whether an entire company counts as green. For anyone tracking Vietnam's carbon market, the key detail is sequencing: green credit first, then a credible carbon price, then green bonds. The official message is to move at a pace businesses can handle without breaking growth targets.
