HANOI, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's steel industry has targeted carbon neutrality by 2050 and started to transition to a greener model of production, according to the Vietnam Steel Association.

Some steel mills in Vietnam have started generating electricity from the excess heat from their factories, aiming to reduce negative environmental impacts and increase energy use, the Vietnam News newspaper reported Friday, citing Chairman of the Vietnam Steel Association Nghiem Xuan Da.

He said the steel industry has joined the Southeast Asian country's efforts by adopting and embracing digital transformation, technological optimization and improved efficiency.

The Vietnamese government has launched an action plan to realize the goal of carbon neutrality for the industrial and commercial sectors by 2030, with a vision to fulfil the country's net-zero emission goal by 2050 as committed at the 26th United Nations Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP26) in Glasgow, Britain.

As Vietnam ranks the 13th among the largest crude steel producers and leads ASEAN in both production and consumption of steel products, steel is one of the main contributors to the country's carbon emissions and consumers of fossil fuel.

The industry accounts for 7 to 9 percent of Vietnam's total carbon emissions.

Ma Khai Hien, director of the Energy Conservation Research and Development Centre, said Vietnam's steel manufacturing enterprises will face challenges in cutting down the emissions as the average rate of greenhouse gas emissions is about 23 percent higher than the world average.

According to the Vietnam Steel Association, Vietnam exported about 8.4 million tons of steel worth nearly 8 billion U.S. dollars last year, down 35.85 percent in volume and 32.2 percent in value year-on-year.