At the ministerial discussion session within the framework of the P4G 2025 Conference, on the morning of April 17 in Hanoi, Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung gave a speech on breakthrough technology for green transformation and sustainable development in the age of intelligence.
Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung speaks at the Technology discussion session, within the framework of the P4G 2025 event. Photo: Luu Quy
Green development is a great step forward for human civilization . The history of human development up to now has been based on the consumption and depletion of resources, and at an increasingly high rate. While consuming a lot of resources, the waste created has polluted the environment. So much so that Mother Nature had to speak up, sometimes even get angry. By touching Mother Nature, we have touched the root of life. Such development is unsustainable. Such development lacks ethics. Such development is irresponsible to our descendants.
Vietnamese people often say that there is one thing that is infinite, that is the intelligence of a human being . The intelligence of tens of billions of people is even more infinite. But human intelligence is mainly sleeping. It is only awakened when there is a challenge. If the challenge is infinite, then human intelligence becomes infinite. Green and sustainable development is a huge challenge for humanity. And because this challenge is so great, human intelligence will be activated and will also become very great to solve this challenge.
Vietnam is committed to net zero emissions by 2050. We are one of the first countries to develop a National Action Plan to implement the 2030 Agenda, shifting from the traditional growth model to green growth and digital economy. These are strong commitments, creating great pressure for ourselves, to activate Vietnamese intelligence, to seek global innovation to solve the green development problem of Vietnam and humanity.
Green transformation is a long way off. Therefore, we need to build a complete and balanced green ecosystem including green institutions, green infrastructure, green human resources, green technology, green data and green culture. In this ecosystem, green technology plays a decisive role.
Green and sustainable development is development based on science and technology, innovation and digital transformation (ST&T, I&T and I&T) . The development of ST&T, I&T and I&T must also aim to serve green and sustainable development. Vietnam has brought these three under the same state management ministry. Considering ST&T, I&T and I&T as strategic choices and top priorities.
Regarding the priority of applying and developing new technologies . For Vietnam, breakthrough technologies that can create fundamental changes in the green development of humanity are hydrogen, new generation batteries, low-carbon technology, and circular technology. New generation digital technologies that drive green transformation are AI, IoT, Big Data, and semiconductor chips. These are all technologies selected by the Vietnamese Government as strategic technologies to prioritize development.
Like the rest of the world, Vietnam considers AI as the most core technology of the fourth industrial revolution . Vietnam’s digital transformation is being transformed into AI transformation. But Vietnam’s approach to AI is that AI does not replace humans but only empowers humans. AI frees humans from some tasks that humans are not good at (for example, having to remember a lot, having to process a lot of data), so that humans can do better the remaining tasks, the tasks that humans are better at (for example, tasks without data). AI is an assistant to humans, making humans smarter. And especially, AI makes all human activities smarter, more optimal and therefore more resource-saving.
AI is better than humans at inferring the future based on past data. Until now, the way humans infer the future has been based on the past. But the human past is too big for humans to handle. AI has solved this problem. But inferring the future based on imagining the future, AI is inferior to humans, because there is no data. So from now on, humans will infer the future based on the past thanks to AI, while humans will do it themselves based on imagining the future. And so, humans will go to the future much faster than in the past. Green development is exploring the future.
Artificial intelligence is very smart, but if humans are not smarter, not smarter in the way they develop, the risks will still be there. Therefore, artificial intelligence must help humans become smarter, this should be the number one requirement for AI, and it should also be the number one requirement for humans to be able to develop in a more civilized way, that is, develop greener, more sustainably.
On green transformation (GD) and digital transformation (DX) . Green and digital are twins.
If you want to be green, you have to be digital. In the digital environment, people will spend less on material things, saving resources. Activities in the digital environment will also be more effective, because it is immaterial, distance-free, intermediary-free and contact-free. Vietnam promotes digital transformation comprehensively and nationwide in all fields.
If you want digital, you have to be green. Digital transformation must be green. Data centers will be the largest consumers of electricity in the future. So, digital transformation must use green electricity, must use electricity efficiently. New data centers in Vietnam must have a PUE efficiency of less than 1.3.
About green standards . If you want to transform green, you need green standards. Standards are the guide for a country, a country needs to use standards to move towards where it wants to go. Green transformation is a global issue, we need to cooperate to build a set of global green standards.
Regarding the effective use of available resources, from natural resources, energy, knowledge to data and capital . Humanity is not currently using available resources effectively. Recycling only reaches about 7.2%, food waste is over 30%, energy efficiency only reaches 30-40%, only 5% of data is analyzed and used effectively, only 2% of total global financial assets are invested in the field of green and sustainable development.
The solution could be, using IoT to digitize the entire physical world and AI to monitor the performance of the entire physical world, and from there, evaluate and make adjustment decisions, then humans will use resources much more efficiently.
Green and sustainable development must become a way of life for every citizen . Human consumption is the total consumption of nearly 9 billion people. Waste or efficiency depends on each user, and every day. The most effective propaganda is to develop a 24/7 virtual assistant that can answer all questions and directions of people on green living and green consumption.
We call for global action, promote multilateral cooperation, create new cooperation models, share experiences and technologies, and support developing countries in the green transition.
We propose to establish a website so that P4G countries, corporations and companies can access information on technologies and experiences in green transformation in the most convenient and fastest way. Establish an ” Open Innovation Model ” in P4G member countries to form a bridge between solution and technology providers and corporations and organizations with green transformation needs.
I hope this discussion will open up new approaches to green development, and create opportunities for global cooperation. Because only global cooperation can solve the problem of green development. There cannot be a green country without a green world. There cannot be a green world without a green country.
