Vietnam’s National Assembly Standing Committee reviewed the Government’s draft amendments to the Law on Environmental Protection on 22 September 2026. The proposal follows a five-year review of the 2020 Law on Environmental Protection and is intended to simplify administrative procedures while strengthening risk-based environmental management, pollution control and climate governance. The Standing Committee agreed that the proposal should proceed to the National Assembly after further revision.

The draft remains under legislative review and does not yet create new compliance obligations. According to the official legislative summary, it would amend 78 of the Law’s 171 articles and introduce two new provisions, Articles 72a and 139a. The Government is expected to present the revised proposal at the National Assembly’s second session in October 2026.

Environmental Assessments and Permits

One of the principal objectives is to reduce the number of projects and facilities required to complete an environmental impact assessment or obtain an environmental permit. Certain activities may instead move to the less burdensome environmental-registration process, while application documents and administrative procedures would be simplified.

The precise projects, sectors and thresholds affected have not yet been confirmed in an accessible consolidated draft. Manufacturers and project developers should therefore continue applying the existing EIA, permitting and registration rules until the amendments and their implementing instruments are adopted.

The proposal also supports greater decentralisation of regulatory authority. Local authorities may receive broader responsibility for environmental decisions, implementation, inspection and supervision, with clearer accountability between central and provincial bodies. Companies operating facilities in several provinces should monitor whether this produces different filing routes or competent authorities for their projects.

Risk-Based Environmental Management

Vietnam proposes to move towards environmental governance based more directly on data and the level of environmental risk. The draft would support digital administration and introduce additional mechanisms for monitoring and warning of pollution and environmental-degradation risks.

These changes may increase the importance of reliable facility-level data concerning emissions, wastewater, waste generation, hazardous materials and environmental incidents. Operators may eventually need to ensure that monitoring results and internal records can be submitted electronically and reconciled with information held by environmental authorities.

The draft also seeks to strengthen environmental-incident prevention and response. Chemical facilities, waste operators and manufacturers handling significant quantities of hazardous materials should follow the final text for possible changes to risk identification, warning systems, emergency planning and reporting responsibilities.

Waste, Recycling and Producer Responsibility

Another group of proposed amendments concerns waste recycling, reuse, circular-economy development and extended producer responsibility. The draft reportedly includes additional provisions concerning information on waste generation, collection, transportation, recycling and treatment.

Companies subject to Vietnam’s producer-responsibility framework should monitor whether the amendments affect reporting, recycling responsibilities, financial contributions or supporting data. However, the legislative summaries do not yet establish final changes to producer obligations or recycling rates.

Air, Water and Emissions Management

The proposal would strengthen air- and water-quality management by considering environmental carrying capacity. It also envisages additional emissions inventories and the establishment of low-emission zones, which may be relevant to industrial facilities and transportation activities in areas with significant air-quality concerns.

The draft would further develop Vietnam’s climate framework by moving from a general focus on greenhouse-gas mitigation towards broader emissions management. Facility-level greenhouse-gas inventories may be required annually rather than under the current reporting cycle, although the final scope, reporting years and implementing procedures remain subject to legislative approval.

Practical Compliance Impact

If adopted, the amendments could affect how new or expanded chemical and manufacturing projects are classified for EIA, environmental permits and environmental registration. Existing facilities may also face revised monitoring, digital reporting, emissions-inventory, waste-data or incident-prevention requirements.

Companies should map their present obligations under the 2020 Law against the proposed areas of reform but should not alter existing permits or reporting processes yet. Particular attention should be given to facilities near permitting thresholds, operations with significant air or wastewater emissions, EPR-obligated producers and installations required to conduct greenhouse-gas inventories.

The adoption date, entry-into-force date and transitional arrangements have not been specified in the available sources. The Government and the National Assembly’s responsible committees will continue revising the proposal before it is submitted for consideration in October 2026.