‘They challenged the Communist monopoly’: Vietnam regime turns on its climate champions

Nguy Thi Khanh, an environmental campaigner who was jailed by Vietnamese authorities in what human rights advocacy group Project 88 condemned as an unfair trial. Photograph: 2018 Goldman Environmental Prize

Less than 12 months ago G7 countries agreed to provide billions of dollars to help Vietnam ditch coal. The funding was described as a “gamechanger in the fight against climate change” by Rishi Sunak, the British prime minister. It was designed to help Vietnam achieve a “just and equitable” energy transition, with input from civil society.

But in the months that have followed, Vietnam has continued a crackdown on environmentalists, jailing NGO leaders and technical experts who specialise in clean energy.