Become a Member for $9.99/month

On April 23, 2026, a coalition of international human rights and environmental organizations delivered a sobering joint letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The letter emphasized an inconvenient truth amidst the European Union’s (EU) celebration of its newly minted Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) with Việt Nam: the agreement's ambitious climate and trade goals rest on a foundation of worsening human rights abuses.

The coalition explicitly demanded that the EU establish binding human rights safeguards and secure the release of arbitrarily detained environmental human rights defenders (EHRDs).

While this demand is a reasonable expectation, it directly contrasts with the reality in Việt Nam, where civic space is actively deteriorating due to systematic crackdowns and the forced closures of civil society organizations.

The Dark Side of Việt Nam's Green Rise

Việt Nam has mastered the art of telling the international community exactly what it wants to hear. After pledging to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, the government secured a massive $15.5 billion Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) to phase out coal.

The United Nations Development Programme enthusiastically championed this initiative, claiming that Việt Nam’s " green rise ensures a just transition for everyone. ”

However, the term "everyone" excludes the very people who are trying to protect the environment. In a glaring display of irony, Việt Nam gladly accepts billions in green financing while systematically hunting down clean energy advocates.

Consider Đặng Đình Bách , an environmental lawyer whose coalition was instrumental in convincing the government to make its 2050 net-zero pledge. For all his efforts, Bách was graciously rewarded with five years in prison on fabricated "tax evasion" charges. He is now reportedly emaciated and on a hunger strike.

Addressing his case, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded that the charges were a mere pretext to shut down his environmental advocacy.

Despite these findings, the international financiers bankrolling this "just" transition have practically plugged their ears. Germany’s GIZ claimed its internal assessments found no "elevated risk" of human rights violations. Similarly, the Asian Development Bank callously stated that it only knew of Bách’s situation through "media sources," despite receiving formal UN communications.

Concurrently, Việt Nam’s Ministry of Public Security is also drafting legal revisions that exempt police officers from criminal liability while forcing defense lawyers to act as state informants against their clients. It appears that the only thing transitioning in Việt Nam is the government’s evolution into a more efficient police state.

The Betrayal of Việt Nam’s Working Class

The hypocrisy of the JETP extends far beyond the silencing of lawyers, trickling down to the very workers the initiative is supposedly designed to protect.

In Việt Nam’s traditional coal hub of Quảng Ninh , the concept of a "just transition" is little more than an empty and hollow promise. To meet international climate targets, coal production is slowing, leaving an estimated 77,000 to 111,000 workers facing the imminent threat of job losses and reduced incomes.

Despite securing $15.5 billion in funding, Việt Nam has failed to establish a dedicated financial mechanism for worker retraining or a comprehensive social safety framework for these affected households. As a result, local economies that previously relied on mining wages are shrinking, leaving families facing an uncertain future.

This economic uncertainty closely mirrors the plight of coastal villagers in south-central Việt Nam, who have spent years trapped in limbo awaiting a delayed nuclear power project.

For both the coal miners and the displaced villagers, the CSP and the JETP function as government mandates that are completely disconnected from the harsh realities confronting working-class communities.

Human Rights, Geopolitics, and the JETP

The glowing narrative surrounding the EU-Việt Nam CSP and the JETP requires a willing suspension of disbelief on the part of the international community.

Hà Nội has demonstrated a clear, undeniable pattern of deceiving international donors while actively suppressing its citizens. The government eagerly signs free trade agreements filled with sustainability clauses, yet it ruthlessly imprisons the very civil society leaders attempting to monitor those commitments.

Việt Nam champions a green future on the global stage while leaving tens of thousands of its coal miners at home to fend for themselves.

This is not the conduct of a trustworthy partner.

By seeking a manufacturing alternative to China, the EU and international financial institutions are willingly sacrificing their foundational values to appease geopolitical anxieties over human rights.

Until strict, binding safeguards are enforced and all arbitrarily detained political prisoners are freed, foreign partners must stop pretending this energy transition is "just." In reality, they are simply bankrolling a masterclass in authoritarian greenwashing.

References: +

Amnesty International. (2026, April 23). Concerns regarding the EU-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and commitments to human rights and a just energy transition—Joint letter. https://www.amnesty.eu/news/concerns-regarding-the-eu-vietnam-comprehensive-strategic-partnership-and-commitments-to-human-rights-and-a-just-energy-transition-joint-letter/

Climate Action Tracker. (n.d.). Viet Nam net zero targets. Retrieved April 30, 2026, from https://climateactiontracker.org/countries/vietnam/net-zero-targets/

Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. (n.d.). Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) with Viet Nam [Factsheet]. https://www.bmz.de/resource/blob/246478/factsheet-jetp-vietnam-en.pdf

Khalidi, R. (2025, April 14). Viet Nam’s green rise ensures a just transition for everyone. United Nations Development Programme . https://www.undp.org/vietnam/blog/viet-nams-green-rise-ensures-just-transition-everyone

Reed, A. (2025, November 28). Not a 'just' transition: Việt Nam's green energy push and the silencing of Đặng Đình Bách. The Vietnamese Magazine . https://thevietnamese.org/2025/11/not-a-just-transition-viet-nams-green-energy-push-and-the-silencing-of-dang-dinh-bach/

Reed, A. (2026, February 6). Economic triumphs and human rights failures in the EU-Viet Nam comprehensive strategic partnership. The Vietnamese Magazine . https://thevietnamese.org/2026/02/economic-triumphs-and-human-rights-failures-in-the-eu-viet-nam-comprehensive-strategic-partnership/

The Vietnamese Magazine. (2025, November). Viet Nam’s coal workers in the shadow of energy transition. https://thevietnamese.org/2025/11/viet-nams-coal-workers-in-the-shadow-of-energy-transition/

The Vietnamese Magazine. (2026, April 27). Viet Nam tightens restrictions on lawyers as police seek greater impunity. https://thevietnamese.org/2026/04/viet-nam-tightens-restrictions-on-lawyers-as-police-seek-greater-impunity/

United Nations Human Rights Council, Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. (2023). Opinion No. 22/2023 concerning Viet Nam (A/HRC/WGAD/2023/22). Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights . https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/detention-wg/opinions/session96/A-HRC-WGAD-2023-22-VietNam-Advance-Edited-Version.pdf

The EU’s Dangerous Compromise: Human Rights, the CSP, and Việt Nam’s JETP

RELATED POSTS

The Dao People and the Hidden Costs of Progress in Việt Nam

Mekong River Arsenic Contamination: Myanmar Rare-Earth Mining Threatens Việt Nam

Beyond the Neutral Gaze: Ethics and Friendship in ‘We Have Eaten the Forest’

Aerolyne Reed

Related Posts

How New Voices are Taking Root in Việt Nam’s News Desert

Gen Z in Việt Nam: Irreverent, Radical, or a New Political Identity Taking Shape

Transnational Repression and Diplomatic Partnerships Under Tô Lâm

Vietnamese Schools Are Teaching Everything Except Freedom

Police Cleared the Flowers, but They Could Never Suppress Justice

“Let Only Red Flowers Bloom”—And How Its Politics Took Root in Vietnam

Việt Nam’s Resolution 29/2026 Grants Exemption from Criminal Liability if Fully Remedied

Việt Nam National Assembly Passes Resolution 29/2026: Criminal Liability Deferral for ‘Non-Corrupt’ Land Violations—The Resolution Came Before the Penal Code

OPINIONS

Transnational Repression and Diplomatic Partnerships Under Tô Lâm

Vietnamese Schools Are Teaching Everything Except Freedom

Police Cleared the Flowers, but They Could Never Suppress Justice

POPULAR STORIES

Religion Bulletin – April 2026 – Việt Nam Passes Amended Religion Law As Authorities Prosecute Four Independent Protestants

Hà Nội ‘Justice Tree’: Social Media Users Demand Investigation into Former Lawmaker Nguyễn Sỹ Cương

Việt Nam Culture Ministry Blocks Threads Posts Accusing Nguyễn Sỹ Cương

Post-1975 Tragedy: The Grim Reality of Life in Vietnam’s Re-education Camps

The Strait of Hormuz Crisis: How Việt Nam is Handling the 2026 Global Oil Shock