Public perception of biofuel usage in Vietnam

ABSTRACT

This paper examines public perception of biofuels in southern Vietnam through a questionnaire survey administered to the general public in two cities in the country (Ho Chi Minh City and Phan Thiet) and experts in the field, in an attempt to understand the demand side motivations of biofuel usage. The survey enquired about the awareness of biofuel availability in Vietnam, motivations for using biofuel, and willingness to purchase biofuel. It was found that awareness was positively correlated with higher education levels, and that all groups were encouraged by the perceived environmental friendliness of biofuel. In terms of willingness to purchase, there was a clear difference in the perception of the appropriate pricing policy for biofuels between the public groups and the experts, with the former preferring higher prices and the latter lower prices. The study then concludes by discussing policy recommendations for improving consumer demand for biofuels in Vietnam and presents suggestions for future research, if the Vietnamese government decides that it is in its interest to pursue biofuels in the future.

KEYWORDS:

• Biofuel
• public perception
• awareness
• willingness to purchase
• Vietnam

Acknowledgments

The present research is the result of cooperation among three universities: The University of Tokyo, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, and Vietnam Japan University, under the Global Field Exercise (GFE) course initiated by the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science–Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI), the University of Tokyo. The authors are grateful to all professors and faculty members from the three universities, who kindly provided invaluable advice and administration support throughout the research process, in particular during the fieldwork in Vietnam. The role of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Technology (Mombukagakusho), through its scheme on ‘Program for Leading Graduate Schools’, and the Japanese International Development Agency (JICA) is thus greatly acknowledged.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.