Search Climate Insights Directory

The study assesses green hydrogen in Mongolia, finding it most viable for heavy-duty mining transport in the South Gobi region, where it could mitigate 1.2 Mt CO2e annually. While production costs are competitive at 3.3-4.7 USD/kg, water scarcity in the south poses a limit. Public transport in Ulaanbaatar is a possible but limited-scale application, while decentralised heating is currently not cost-competitive compared to LPG.

The report provides the first comprehensive scientific assessment of snow leopards in Mongolia, estimating a national population of 953 adult individuals. Using a two-step process of occupancy surveys and spatial capture-recapture (SCR) via camera traps, the study mapped the species' distribution across 326,617 km, categorizing habitats into high, medium, and low-density strata. The findings establish a baseline for conservation management and highlight the importance of maintaining transboundary populations with Russia.

The report projects warming across all six studied snow leopard landscapes in Central Asia, with varying seasonal precipitation changes. Eastern Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan are expected to experience winter warming and wetter monsoons, while South Gobi and Central Tienshan/Sarychat will see summer warming and minimal precipitation increases. The Karakoram-Pamir region is projected to have consistent warming and increased winter precipitation. These shifts are expected to exacerbate risks to snow leopards, including habitat fragmentation, shifting tree lines, and increased human-wildlife conflict.

The report analyzes Mongolia's energy transition using four scenarios: a coal-heavy reference case, a 'recent plans' case, an 'expanded green energy' case, and a 'shift in energy export' case. It finds that aggressive energy efficiency and renewable energy deployment could halve territorial GHG emissions by 2035 and reduce overall energy demand by 32% compared to the reference scenario. The study highlights the potential for Mongolia to shift from exporting coal to exporting renewable electricity to Northeast Asia, which would significantly reduce extraction-based emissions and mitigate the economic risk of 'carbon entanglement'.

The snow leopard is considered resilient to direct near-term climate impacts due to high temperature tolerance and dispersal ability, but remains potentially vulnerable due to small population size and indirect climate stressors. Key threats include poaching, habitat encroachment, and the potential for disease transmission from livestock and feral dogs. Recommended strategies focus on securing the prey base, filling knowledge gaps in genetics and disease, and helping human populations adapt to climate change to reduce retaliatory killings and habitat degradation.