Vietnam's carbon market: a new exchange, export caps, and the region's most registered projects

The policy picture

Vietnam is building a compliance market and an export regime at the same time. The pilot emissions trading system covers 110 facilities, 34 thermal power plants, 25 steel mills and 51 cement plants, with free allowances, a 2026 cap of 268.4 million tonnes and permission to cover up to 30% of an obligation with offsets, including Article 6 credits. The domestic carbon exchange opened at the Hanoi Stock Exchange on 29 June 2026; the first allowance traded at VND 136,000 a tonne. The pilot runs to the end of 2028 and full commercial operation starts in 2029.

For international buyers the key text is Decree 112/2026, in force since 19 May. The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment issues Letters of Authorisation after credits are issued, and the share of a project's credits that may be exported is capped by project type, at most 90% for the most favoured category. Vietnam signed its Implementation Agreement with Singapore in September 2025, with 5% of proceeds going to adaptation and 2% of credits cancelled, and upgraded its Joint Crediting Mechanism with Japan to Article 6 rules in May 2026. We have not yet seen a corresponding-adjusted transfer from Vietnam.

The domestic market and the export cap pull in the same direction: some Vietnamese credits will be wanted at home, by plants in the ETS, and the government has made sure not all of them can leave.

What the registries show

Vietnam has more registered projects than any other Southeast Asian country, most of them hydropower and wind on Gold Standard and Verra, plus a large cookstove and water filter portfolio. It is a mature market rather than a growing one: the pipeline is small relative to what is already registered. The new listings are electric vehicle charging, rice methane and safe drinking water.

Where the credits have come from

Credits issued and retired to date, Berkeley Voluntary Registry Offsets Database (2026-06 release).

The largest projects not yet issuing

Claimed tonnes per year are the proponent's own estimate as filed with the registry, before validation.

Who is developing

Korea Carbon Management, South Pole and Sustainability Investment Promotion and Development lead by project count. Korean and Singaporean developers are prominent, which matters now that Korea's market and Singapore's tax both accept Article 6 credits.

Developers grouped across registries and spellings by CarbonIntel. A project with several proponents counts for each.

What we are watching

• The first Letter of Authorisation under Decree 112, and the export caps for each project category.
• Allowance prices on the Hanoi exchange, which set the domestic floor for Vietnamese credits.
• Vingroup's electric vehicle charging project in validation, the largest claim in the pipeline.
• Submission of NDC 3.0.