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The 2018 Green Economy Barometer for Mongolia highlights a significant gap between the country's legislative commitments and actual implementation. While the government has adopted the National Green Development Policy and Sustainable Development Vision 2030, Mongolia ranked 79th out of 80 countries in the 2016 Global Green Economy Index. The report argues that investing 4% of GDP into green development could reduce poverty to 10% and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 17% by 2030. Current challenges include severe air pollution in Ulaanbaatar, land degradation affecting 77.8% of land, and a precarious economic dependence on volatile mineral exports.

The document outlines strategies for using public procurement to support the transition to a low-carbon economy in Europe's infrastructure and construction sectors. It identifies key stages of the procurement cycle for driving innovation and offers specific recommendations for the European Commission and EU member states to scale up the use of public funds to stimulate demand for low-carbon solutions.

The document argues that public funding is insufficient to meet the rising costs of urban stormwater management driven by urban expansion and climate variability. It advocates for a shift from centralized 'gray infrastructure' to decentralized 'green infrastructure' on private property. To overcome the lack of private investment, the paper suggests the implementation of stormwater markets using quantity-based approaches such as credit trading, mitigation banks, in-lieu fees, and offsets, noting that a customized design is necessary to align with legal frameworks and ensure actor buy-in.

The Ulaanbaatar Green Affordable Housing and Resilient Urban Renewal Project (AHURP) is a $544 million initiative designed to provide 10,000 energy-efficient, affordable housing units and redevelop 100 hectares of ger areas into eco-districts. The project addresses the vulnerability of rural-urban migrants who have settled in unplanned peri-urban areas due to climate-induced livestock losses (dzuds). By combining GCF grants and concessional loans with ADB financing and private investment, AHURP aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through solar PV and improved building insulation, while increasing urban resilience through climate-proofed infrastructure. The project employs a sector loan modality to drive policy reforms in green banking, building standards, and urban planning.

The document defines sustainable infrastructure and advocates for embedding sustainability criteria into infrastructure contracts, specifically public-private partnerships (PPPs), to mitigate risks and generate co-benefits. It critiques the 2017 World Bank Group’s Guidance on PPP Contractual Provisions for failing to sufficiently support measures aimed at achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Additionally, the text references a Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) assessment regarding the electrification of the bus fleet in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

The briefing by WWF and IISD offers policy guidance for COP 14 regarding the mainstreaming of biodiversity into the infrastructure sector, following a decision from COP 13 to address biodiversity in energy, mining, infrastructure, manufacturing, and health. It mentions upcoming discussions by the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) and references two specific case studies: bus fleet electrification in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and hybrid infrastructure in the Bogotá River basin, Colombia.

The assessment reveals a complex gender landscape in Mongolia where women have high educational attainment and strong legal protections but face significant barriers in the labor market, political empowerment, and decision-making. In the energy sector, women bear a disproportionate burden of household drudgery, particularly in rural areas and peri-urban gers. While small-scale solar home systems have previously improved intra-household dynamics and saved time for women, the large-scale renewable energy sector is in its infancy with limited gender-disaggregated data. XacBank aims to address these gaps by implementing gender-non-discriminatory hiring and capacity-building targets within its solar program to benefit vulnerable populations, including rural women and female-headed households.

The assessment finds that Mongolia has a medium level of implementation of the IGF Mining Policy Framework. Key strengths include a high level of transparency in tax and royalty flows through the EITI and a legal framework for artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). However, significant gaps exist in the management of high-risk mine wastes, the lack of a comprehensive system for mine closure and financial assurance, and limited government capacity to audit complex tax returns and address transfer pricing. The report recommends prioritizing capacity building in mine closure, financial benefit optimization, and socioeconomic benefit optimization to ensure the mining sector contributes to long-term sustainable development.

The report evaluates Mongolia's mining sector governance across six themes: legal and policy environment, financial benefit optimization, socio-economic benefit optimization, environmental management, mine closure transition, and artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). While Mongolia demonstrates strengths in transparency (EITI participation) and professional human resources, it faces significant challenges in mine closure planning, waste management, and the formalization of ASM. The assessment concludes that Mongolia's overall implementation level of the IGF framework is 'average', with critical gaps in financial guarantees for mine closure and the lack of a comprehensive system for monitoring environmental impacts on water and biodiversity.

The Independent Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) assessed nine funding proposals across various regions. Key recommendations include the approval of renewable energy and financial inclusion projects in Mongolia, South Africa, Argentina, and the Pacific Islands, as well as adaptation projects in Bangladesh, Uganda, Vanuatu, and Samoa. While most were recommended for approval, several were subject to conditions regarding technical design (notably water systems in Bangladesh), operational track records (South Africa), and long-term maintenance plans (Vanuatu).

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 document analyzes the gap between Mongolia's formal decentralization policies and the 'de facto' decentralization occurring in pasture land management. It argues that an institutional vacuum, characterized by high political decentralization but negligible fiscal and administrative autonomy, has led to rising social inequality and environmental degradation. The author highlights how the retreat of the state from regulating land use has empowered wealthy herders while marginalizing poorer ones, resulting in decreased pastoral mobility and increased grazing pressure near settlements.

The document highlights that just 1% of Mongolia's estimated superhot rock geothermal resource could provide 3,159 GW of energy capacity, far exceeding the country's 2021 electricity consumption of 7,432 GWh. This resource could theoretically replace all coal and gas used for electricity production, reducing emissions by approximately 15 megatonnes of CO2eq, which represents 72% of Mongolia's NDC goal. Additionally, it could eliminate the 25% of electricity that Mongolia currently imports, while requiring significantly less land (12 km² per 1 GW) than solar, wind, or biomass.

Mongolia's progress toward a green economy was ranked 3 out of 10 in a 2018 report. The country faces significant environmental hurdles, including air pollution, land degradation, and water mismanagement, with 70% of its land lacking groundwater access. While the government has implemented the National Green Development Policy and Sustainable Development Vision 2030, a gap remains between official narratives and actual implementation. Transition efforts involve tax exemptions for renewables, the operation of 12 renewable energy sites (wind, hydro, and solar), and international support from entities like the Green Climate Fund and ADB to develop low-carbon eco-districts in Ulaanbaatar.

Mongolia's NDC3.0 sets an ambitious target to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by up to 52.8% by 2035 compared to a business-as-usual scenario, combining unconditional measures, forest sequestration, and conditional international support. The plan emphasizes a transition from a coal-dependent energy system to renewables and addresses high vulnerability in the livestock and agriculture sectors. Adaptation strategies focus on water security, biodiversity protection, and disaster risk reduction, with a total estimated implementation cost of USD 14.84 billion.