Nam added that the ministry would create a legal framework to boost the development of green industries.

The Government wants the country to become an industrialised nation by 2020. In that time, it anticipates the population in major cities to rise by about 45 per cent from its current level.

The World Green Building Council said that buildings consume about 40 per cent of the world's energy and generate 30 per cent of global carbon emissions.

Green buildings, therefore, are crucial to reducing the country's carbon footprint, said Tran Huu Ha, head of the ministry's Science, Technology and Environment Department.

He said going green would also reduce the effects of global warming.

However, he said the development of clean technologies would initially require a big investment.

Le Thi Bich Thuan, deputy head of the ministry's Institute of Architecture, Urban and Rural Planning, said industrialisation also led to the loss of green spaces, further adding to global warming.

Thuan added that up till now little had been done to encourage construction firms to invest in green buildings.

She also said the Government should invest more in environmental sciences and raise public awareness about the need to conserve resources.

The National Convention Centre is one of the few green buildings in Viet Nam. It uses solar power and geothermal technology to reduce its energy needs. Phan Van Binh, deputy director of the project management board for National Assembly Buildings and Ba Dinh Square, said green technologies and environ-mental protection were vital to the sustainable development of the country.