Eni and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam (MARD) signed a memorandum of understanding today in Hanoi to identify joint initiatives in the areas of agri-feedstock and carbon credit generation.
The parties will explore opportunities to exploit residues from agro-industrial value chains to produce vegetable oils, not in competition with the food supply chain, for use in Eni's biorefineries. Potential initiatives also include the regeneration of degraded, abandoned or polluted land, as a factor for rural development.
The memorandum includes the possibility of cooperating on the generation of carbon credits through emission offsetting activities based on the Natural Climate Solution aimed, for example, at avoiding deforestation, promoting sustainable use of forests, supporting the conservation of natural ecosystems, such as mangroves, and land management with climate-resilient agricultural practices.
The memorandum is in line with MARD's mission to develop the Vietnamese agricultural sector with a sustainable approach, encouraging growth of 2.5%-3% and an increase in forest area to 42%, and with Eni's Strategy to achieve zero net emissions by 2050.
Eni has been present in Vietnam since 2012 in the Upstream sector and currently operates in 5 blocks located in the Song Hong and Phu Khanh basins, offshore central Vietnam.