The Green Economy Barometer 2018 Mongolia

The Green Economy Barometer 2018 Mongolia, produced by the Economic Policy and Competitiveness Research Centre (EPCRC) for the Green Economy Coalition, evaluates Mongolia's transition toward a sustainable economy. The report highlights a significant gap between the government's legislative commitments and actual implementation, ranking Mongolia's progress as 3 out of 10. While the country faces severe environmental challenges—including extreme air pollution in Ulaanbaatar and widespread land degradation—it has established national frameworks like the National Green Development Policy and Sustainable Development Vision 2030 to guide its transition.

• Economic modelling suggests that investing 4% of GDP into green development could significantly improve Mongolia's socio-economic indicators by 2030, including a 5.23% increase in employment, a reduction of the poverty rate to 10% (from 21.6% in 2014), and a 17% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions per unit of GDP. Real GDP per capita is projected to reach MNT 3.1 million (USD 1,297).
• Mongolia faces critical environmental crises, with 77.8% of its land affected by desertification to some degree and 10% considered highly vulnerable. Additionally, Ulaanbaatar suffers from severe air pollution, with PM 2.5 levels averaging 75, which is substantially higher than WHO Air Quality Standards, largely driven by the burning of coal and waste in ger districts during winter.
• Despite having national policies such as the National Green Development Policy (NGDP) and the Sustainable Development Vision 2030, Mongolia's actual progress is low. The report ranks the country's transition as 3 out of 10 and notes that Mongolia ranked 79th out of 80 countries in the 2016 Global Green Economy Index.
• Mongolia's performance on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is close to the East and South Asian regional average (64.2 vs 63.3), but 8 of the 17 goals are classified as 'red'. The most pressing issues are SDG 2 (zero hunger), SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy), and SDG 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure), where progress scores are below 50%.
• The financial sector's support for the green transition is limited, though some initiatives exist. The Mongolian Bankers’ Association estimates a need for USD 7 billion for energy efficiency, renewables, buildings, waste, and transport, plus USD 4.3 billion for air and soil pollution. Recent positive steps include a USD 20 million transfer from the Green Climate Fund to XacBank and the establishment of the Mongolian Green Climate Fund.
• A 2016 pilot survey estimated that there were 112,300 green jobs in Mongolia, representing 9.9% of all jobs. These jobs are primarily concentrated in education (30.3%), manufacturing (15.9%), mining (9.4%), and management (6.2%).

APA

Green Economy Coalition (2018). The Green Economy Barometer 2018 Mongolia. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/Barometers-2018/Mongolia-GE-Barometer-2018-Final-WEB.pdf

Chicago

Green Economy Coalition. The Green Economy Barometer 2018 Mongolia. 2018. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/Barometers-2018/Mongolia-GE-Barometer-2018-Final-WEB.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Green Economy Coalition |title=The Green Economy Barometer 2018 Mongolia |date=May 2018 |url=https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/Barometers-2018/Mongolia-GE-Barometer-2018-Final-WEB.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greeneconomycoalition2018green, author = {{Green Economy Coalition}}, title = {{The Green Economy Barometer 2018 Mongolia}}, institution = {Green Economy Coalition}, year = {2018}, month = may, url = {https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/assets/reports/Barometers-2018/Mongolia-GE-Barometer-2018-Final-WEB.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }