‘Climate refugees’ fleeing red dust www.ubpost.mn

For generations, Mongolians have read the sky the way others read books. The precise pitch of a spring breeze could foretell a summer’s temperament. The restless behaviour of livestock on the open steppe could whisper warnings that no instrument yet built has managed to replicate. This wasn’t folklore, it was survival science, refined over centuries of nomadic life on the steppe, passed down not in written manuals but in the weathered wisdom of elders who never once needed a weather app. That intimate contract with nature is now in tatters. The wind Mongolians once knew like a neighbour has turned stranger, volatile, unpredictable and increasingly hostile. What greets many citizens on a clear morning can, within mere minutes, become a wall of red dust swallowing the horizon whole. Temperatures swing wildly from scorching midday heat to bitter evening cold with a capriciousness that makes even seasoned herders pause and shake their heads. To chalk this up simply to “extreme continental climate” - the old, convenient explanation - is no longer honest. Something deeper is shifting, and it is exacting a price in human lives.

Dust storms and violent winds are hardly new to the Mongolian experience. But their frequency, ferocity and reach have escalated sharply in recent years, battering not only the open countryside but descending on the streets of Ulaanbaatar with a brazenness that catches city dwellers off guard. What was once a seasonal nuisance has graduated into a year-round public health emergency hiding in plain sight, or rather, hiding in plain air. Consider the telltale signs many brush off: a persistent dry cough, the constant urge to clear one’s throat, a vague heaviness in the chest that no amount of rest seems to cure. 

The real villain in this story, however, is one the naked eye cannot catch that PM2.5, particulate matter so fine it measures less than 2.5 micrometres across, small enough to slip past the body’s natural defences, burrow deep into lung tissue and make its way directly into the bloodstream. Once there, it doesn’t simply sit quietly. It wages a slow war, inflaming blood vessel walls, triggering palpitations, inducing headaches and gradually narrowing the very channels the heart depends on to keep the body alive. This is not alarmism. The World Health Organization has long established that elevated PM2.5 concentrations are directly linked to sharply increased risks of heart attack, stroke and chronic respiratory disease. The science is unambiguous, and Mongolia is living it in real time.

The full human cost of Mongolia’s worsening air crisis is only beginning to be counted, and the early numbers are sobering. Research by the Asian Development Bank has found that thousands of Mongolians die prematurely each year from illnesses directly tied to air pollution. Not thousands made ill. Thousands died, years before their time, from conditions that cleaner air might well have prevented. This is no longer a story about inconvenience or even public health alone. When a nation’s air becomes hazardous enough to shorten the lives of its people in significant numbers, the crisis crosses into the territory of national security. The Mongolian people have always understood that survival on the steppe demands respect for nature and attentiveness to its signals. The tragedy of this moment is that nature is still sending signals, louder and more urgent than ever before. 

As wind moves, we shrink

The scale of the damage is no longer difficult to quantify, it is simply hard to stomach. According to the Information and Research Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Environment, 2025 alone saw 73 dangerous and catastrophic weather events recorded across the country, inflicting direct financial damage of 4.4 billion MNT. However that figure captures only what accountants can tally. The degradation of pastureland, the crumbling of buildings and infrastructure, the slow hollowing out of ecosystems, these losses do not fit neatly into a balance sheet, but they are no less real for it.

Experts point squarely at two culprits driving nature’s escalating fury: global warming and desertification. The country’s average air temperature has climbed by 2.2 degrees Celsius over the past 80 years, which is a rate of warming nearly twice the global average. As temperatures rise, so do the disparities in atmospheric pressure, and it is precisely these pressure differentials that act as the engine room for stronger winds and more frequent dust storms. The data bear this out with uncomfortable clarity that a joint report by the World Bank and Mongol Bank found that the number of days blighted by sandstorms has tripled since the 1960s, with the Gobi region now enduring dust storms for an average of 30 to 60 days every year.

The land itself is losing the fight. According to the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry, desertification now touches 76.9 percent of Mongolia’s total territory in some form. This is a staggering proportion that speaks to an ecological crisis unfolding across virtually the entire country. Strong winds act as a slow but relentless thief, stripping the topsoil of its nutrients year after year. As the soil is bled dry, plant growth falters, pasture yields deteriorate and livestock fertility declines in kind. The vicious cycle tightens with each passing season. So poorer pastures produce weaker herds, weaker herds leave families more exposed to drought, and drought drives the land further toward barrenness. For nomadic communities whose entire way of life rests on the productivity of the steppe, this is a direct and deepening assault on everything they have.

The story of disappearing water tells the same truth in a quieter but no less devastating register. Since the 1990s, half of Mongolia’s glaciers have vanished. In their absence, roughly 1,200 rivers, more than 2,000 springs and around 1,100 lakes have dried up entirely, a loss that scientists liken to severing the circulatory system of the natural world itself. Once gone, these waterways do not return on any timescale that matters to the living. As temperatures continue to climb and water sources dwindle, soil moisture drops, crop yields shrink and the desert advances further. The ancient rhythms of nomadic life are being squeezed from every direction at once, and experts warn that the brutal cycle of summer drought followed by winter zud (severe winter condition) is only growing more frequent and more punishing, leaving herding families with little room to breathe - let alone recover. 

The most visible human consequence of all this is playing out not in research papers, but on the roads into Ulaanbaatar. Thousands of households stripped of their livestock by drought, zud and violent storms have made the wrenching decision to leave the steppe behind. At the international level, such people are increasingly recognised by a term that would have once seemed foreign to this landscape: climate refugees who are displaced not by war or politics, but by the brute force of a world remaking itself around them. A 2024 report by the WHO and the UN Migration Agency projects that global climate displacement could reach 1.2 billion people by 2050. Mongolia is already living this future in miniature. Between 40,000 and 50,000 citizens migrate from the countryside to the capital every year, and roughly a quarter to a third of them are herders who have lost their livelihoods to natural disaster, somewhere between 13,000 and 15,000 people annually, uprooted not by choice but by necessity. The ripple effects compound relentlessly that Ulaanbaatar strains under the pressure of absorbing so many displaced families, while the land they left behind grows quieter, emptier and ever more fragile.

Pastoralism is the beating heart of the nation’s identity, the thread that ties a civilisation to its landscape across centuries. That it is now buckling under the weight of forces largely not of Mongolia’s own making is not simply an environmental emergency, it is a cultural one, an economic one, and a matter of national security that can no longer be deferred. 

Priced out of green economy

Fine dust born of the steppe does not respect borders. Satellite data reveals that between 60 and 70 percent of all dust storms sweeping across East Asia originate in southern Mongolia alone, carrying their invisible cargo of PM2.5 particles deep into China, South Korea and Japan. International researchers have increasingly characterised this transboundary drift not just as a meteorological nuisance but as a regional ecological threat. That is straining diplomatic relationships and forcing neighbouring governments to factor Mongolian desert winds into their own public health calculations. What begins as a wall of dust rising over the Gobi does not end there.

But the consequences of cutting closest to home are financial. The 2025 Financial Stability Report of Mongol Bank lays bare a vulnerability that has long been building beneath the surface: 28 percent of all loans in the country’s banking system, amounting to 7.6 trillion MNT, are concentrated in sectors acutely exposed to climate risk. As livestock herds are devastated by natural disasters and agricultural output becomes increasingly unreliable, borrowers in these sectors find their ability to repay steadily eroding. The spectre of non-performing loans piling up inside Mongolia’s financial institutions is no longer a theoretical risk scenario. It is a gathering storm of its own kind, one that threatens to move the crisis from the pastures into the balance sheets of the broader economy.

The pressures from beyond the borders are mounting in equal measure. The country ranks among the world’s highest emitters of greenhouse gases relative to the size of its economy, a distinction that carried little immediate consequence in an earlier era of global trade, but one that is rapidly becoming a commercial liability. As the international community accelerates its shift toward a green economy, high-emitting nations are finding themselves on the wrong side of an increasingly firm line. The EU’s carbon tax regime is perhaps the sharpest expression of this new reality, carrying the power to directly undercut the competitiveness of exports from countries whose production remains heavily carbon-intensive. For us, whose economy depends significantly on raw material exports, this is not a distant policy debate unfolding in Brussels, it is a direct threat to the country’s place in global trade, arriving precisely at the moment when the land itself is already under siege.

Time to protect nature before it’s gone 

Mongolia’s vulnerability is a failure of preparedness. The country’s placement at 116th out of 191 nations in the Inform-2024 global risk index is a sobering measure of how far its disaster readiness lags behind the scale of the threats it faces. Risk assessment frameworks exist on paper, adaptation policies are drafted and announced, but the gap between intention and implementation remains wide enough to drive a crisis through, and in recent years, that is precisely what has happened.

There are commitments on the table. Under the Paris Agreement, Mongolia has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by between 22 and 27 percent by 2030, which is an ambitious target that, if met, would represent a meaningful contribution from a country whose emissions punch well above their weight relative to its economy. But experts in the field are quick to caution that a number on a page and a transformation on the ground are two very different things. Targets become reality only when they are married to genuine investment, technological innovation, and the kind of broad civic engagement that turns policy into habit. Without those foundations, a climate pledge is little more than a promissory note written against a future no one can guarantee.

The path forward, those same experts insist, is neither mysterious nor out of reach. Transitioning to renewable energy, safeguarding water resources, overhauling pasture management, and investing in reforestation are not peripheral environmental gestures, they are, in the most literal sense, acts of national self-preservation. In a country where the land is the economy and the economy is the land, ecological resilience and national security are not separate conversations. They are the same one.

And crucially, that conversation belongs to every citizen, not only to policymakers and scientists. Conserving water, protecting soil, planting trees, reducing waste, consuming energy more thoughtfully, these are not grand sacrifices but quiet, daily choices that accumulate into something far larger than the sum of their parts. Environmental experts estimate that by embedding a genuine culture of preparedness into everyday life, the damage inflicted by natural disasters could be reduced by as much as 50 percent. That is the difference between a nation that bends and one that breaks.

Dust storms, in the end, are nature’s way of demanding a reckoning not a punishment, but a warning, issued with growing urgency to those willing to hear it. We cannot dictate where the wind blows, nor still the forces that have been set in motion by decades of ecological neglect. But we are not without agency. The choice between a future of clear skies and one of sand-choked rivers, barren pastures and desiccated earth is still, just barely, ours to make. If Mongolia’s ancient understanding of nature taught anything, it is that the land and its people are bound together in a contract that cannot be broken without consequence. That contract is overdue for renewal, and the window to act on it is narrowing with every storm that rolls in from the south. 

National Resilience Strategy to Be Developed, Approved Following Presidential Directive www.montsame.mn

President of Mongolia and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Khurelsukh Ukhnaa, met with representatives of the defense sector and personnel of the Mongolian Armed Forces.

The President and Commander-in-Chief expressed gratitude and extended his best wishes to servicemen and women of all generations who faithfully uphold their oath and honorably fulfill their duty to safeguard national independence and security, as well as to their families who provide steadfast support.

He also congratulated personnel of the Ground Forces Command for successfully participating and winning second place in the inaugural Land Forces Readiness Challenge, organized last week by the United States Indo-Pacific Command.

The Head of State emphasized that all personnel should consistently uphold the nation’s fundamental interests, national security, justice, and the rule of law, while reaffirming continued support for constructive proposals and initiatives.

President Khurelsukh provided a brief overview of achievements since assuming office as President and Commander-in-Chief, including defense and Armed Forces reforms, legislative initiatives, national movements and programs, foreign relations, and the country’s socio-economic situation.

During the meeting, state awards were presented to distinguished individuals. Veteran officer and reserve lieutenant colonel Dorj L. of Military Unit 337 received the title of Honored Pilot; veteran officer and reserve colonel Ganbat Ts. of the General Staff of the Armed Forces was awarded the title of Honored Economist, and senior sergeant Batdorj D., driver of the transport section of the automobile platoon of Military Unit 011, received the title of Honored Transport Worker. Several individuals were also awarded Mongolia’s highest state orders and medals.

National Resilience Strategy to Be Developed

In accordance with the directive issued by the President and Commander-in-Chief, a National Resilience Strategy will be developed and approved based on the national defense and disaster protection systems.

The strategy aims to establish a comprehensive national resilience framework involving the Government, ministries, agencies, civil society organizations, and citizens, thereby strengthening the implementation of state self-defense policy through whole-of-society participation.

The defense and Armed Forces sector has been successfully implementing the objectives and measures outlined in the President’s policy and action program. Amendments have been introduced to the Law on the Armed Forces, several state military command structures have been newly established, and related legislation has been updated to enhance national capacity to respond effectively to emerging threats and risks.

Minister of Defense Batlut Damba stated that Mongolia will continue to develop a flexible and efficient unified defense system grounded in national interests, strengthen foreign relations and cooperation, build military confidence with countries worldwide and in the region, and consistently pursue the goal of ensuring national independence and security.

Contributions to International Peacekeeping

Over the past 24 years, Mongolia has deployed more than 23,000 military personnel to United Nations peacekeeping missions and international military operations, demonstrating that the “Mongolian Soldier” has become a “Global Soldier.”

President Khurelsukh designated:

2023 as the Year of the Young Officer for state military and law enforcement organizations,
2024 as the Year of the Non-Commissioned Officer, and
2025 as the Year of the Senior Officer.

Within this framework, extensive measures have been implemented to improve the legal status of servicemen, enhance working conditions, strengthen family and social welfare support, improve professional knowledge and skills, and foster professional ethics, confidence, motivation, and leadership.

2026: Year of Young Officers’ Development

In line with declaring 2026 the “Year of Young Officers’ Development,” efforts will focus on advancing officers’ professional education, foreign language proficiency, communication skills, creative thinking, positive attitudes, responsibility, values, and ethics, enabling them to become leaders and role models for children and youth.

Government reforms in the defense and Armed Forces sector continue uninterrupted. Beginning January 1, 2027, families with children serving in remote military units will receive quarterly incentives equivalent to the national minimum wage. Servicemen who have maintained stable service for five consecutive years will also become eligible for monetary incentives.

If necessary, individual servicemen may receive MNT 20 million in support for housing down payments to purchase apartments or houses.

Under these measures, more than 200 servicemen will receive non-repayable grants totaling MNT 4.1 billion, while over 150 personnel will gain access to mortgage loans without waiting in standard queues.

Additionally, preferential loans and assistance are planned for families engaged in small and medium-sized enterprises and agricultural micro-business activities.

Book Exchange Program Launched with U.S. Library of Congress www.montsame.mn

The library of the Mongolian National University of Education and the U.S. Library of Congress have officially launched a book exchange program. As a part of the program, Dr. Saruul-Erdene Myagmar, a Mongolian specialist at the U.S. Library of Congress, presented the first batch of 20 books to the university on May 11.

The books, focused on human intelligence, education, technology, ethics and social change, will be used in the university’s teaching and research activities. The collection includes works on educational studies, lifelong learning, social and cultural equality, psychology, neuroscience and consciousness studies, artificial intelligence, ethics, technology, science, economics, tourism, culture, mythology, humanities, philosophy, and critical thinking.

During the handover ceremony, Baatarsuren J., director of the university library, noted that the newly received books serve as valuable resources addressing “human-centered, ethical, and sustainable development” from multiple perspectives. He emphasized that the materials would strengthen research sources, promote interdisciplinary studies, enrich course content, and expand opportunities to apply contemporary theories in education. The books are also expected to help students develop critical thinking skills and broaden their competencies.

Since 2025, the university library has been collecting works related to the Mongol studies by Mongolian scholars and researchers and has so far sent 99 books to the Library of Congress.

The Mongolian collection the Library of Congress accepts donations of publications related to the Mongol studies, including translated works by foreign scholars on Mongol studies, Mongolian literature and literary studies, as well as complete multi-volume sets. However, works unrelated to Mongolian studies, books already held by the Library of Congress, and works of fiction are not accepted for donation.

China-Mongolia mega railway project enters critical phase www.chinadaily.com.cn

Construction on the China section of the second cross-border railway between China and Mongolia entered a critical phase on Sunday, paving the way for enhanced bilateral trade and connectivity.

Invested and constructed by the State-owned China Energy Investment Corp (CHN Energy), the railway features a combined single-line design accommodating both standard and broad gauges. A total of 760 T-girders will be installed along the entire route, the company said.

Scheduled for completion and operation in 2027, the project is expected to boast an annual freight capacity of 30 million metric tons, which will significantly deepen infrastructural interconnectivity and bolster economic cooperation between the two neighboring countries.

However, constructing the railway has posed immense engineering challenges. Located deep within the harsh Gobi Desert, the project site is plagued by frequent dust storms and year-round gales, making high-altitude lifting and girder installation highly demanding.

To ensure safety and quality, the project team has deployed a slew of intelligent equipment and innovative techniques, including fully automated rebar processing, advanced tensioning and grouting equipment, and hydraulic side-form systems combined with mobile pedestals to guarantee the precise prefabrication of the massive concrete structures.

To date, approximately 26 percent of the project's offline substructure has been completed, with 268 T-girders already precast. The entire girder erection phase is on track to be finished by October this year, keeping the mega-project steadily on schedule.

zhengxin@chinadaily.com.cn

Mongolia’s Foreign Trade Turnover Reaches USD 10.5 Billion www.montsame.mn

Mongolia traded with 139 countries during the first four months of 2026, with total foreign trade turnover reaching USD 10.5 billion.

According to the National Statistics Office, exports amounted to USD 6.8 billion, while imports totalled USD 3.7 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of USD 3.1 billion.

Compared to the same period last year, total foreign trade turnover increased by USD 2.7 billion, or 34.4%. Exports rose sharply by USD 2.6 billion, or 60.6%, while imports grew by USD 111.8 million, or 3.1%. The foreign trade balance increased 4.6 times, up by USD 2.5 billion year-on-year.

The rise in exports was primarily driven by strong growth in mineral commodity shipments. Exports of copper ores and concentrates increased by USD 1.7 billion, while coal exports grew by USD 730.4 million. Gold exports rose by USD 101.8 million, and exports of lead ores and concentrates increased by USD 26 million.

However, several export categories recorded declines during the period. Exports of refined copper and copper alloys fell by USD 18.7 million, while fluorspar ores and concentrates decreased by USD 9.7 million. Crude petroleum oil exports declined by USD 6.7 million, and horse meat exports dropped by USD 2.6 million.

Asiatic Wild Ass Returns to Eastern Mongolia After 65-year Isolation from Landscape Fencing www.goodnewsnetwork.org

The Asiatic wild ass, known locally as the khulan (Equus hemionus), has returned to eastern Mongolia and is showing clear signs of re-establishing a population after more than 65 years of absence from the region.

For decades, fencing along the Trans-Mongolian Railway (TMR) has restricted movement of khulan and other migratory species. Recent efforts to create safe crossing points are now allowing animals to move more freely across this barrier and recolonize their ancestral lands.

Collaborative efforts between Wildlife Conservation Society, the Mongolian government, and in-country private partners have seen the fencing taken down along several stretches of the railway, while also designating a monitored, “safe passage” zone last May near the China–Mongolia border—also free of fencing.

Findings published this Month in the journal Oryx show that the interventions are working, the animals are responding to them, and that the khulan are now regularly present in multiple groups east of the TMR.

Monitoring shows that crossings occurred in recent years, and follow-up surveys have since recorded hundreds of khulan on the eastern side. This suggests that khulan are not only passing through, but beginning to re-establish in the region.

“Documenting khulan crossing this long-standing barrier and beginning to re-establish in their former range represents an extraordinary conservation breakthrough,” said Buuveibaatar Bayarbaatar, a senior scientist at the Wildlife Conservation Society who lead the study.

“It demonstrates that restoring connectivity in fragmented landscapes can support population recovery for wide-ranging species.”

The Mongolian Gobi supports the world’s largest khulan population—approximately 91,000 animals, more than 84% of the global total. The species nevertheless faces ongoing threats from habitat fragmentation, competition with livestock, illegal hunting, and climate change.

As one of the most wide-ranging terrestrial mammals, maintaining connectivity across this landscape is critical for khulan, allowing them to move between seasonal grazing areas and water sources in a highly variable and arid environment, and supporting the broader functioning and resilience of Mongolia’s steppe ecosystem.

“The return of khulan to eastern Mongolia reflects years of collaborative work with provincial authorities, border protection agencies, and railway managers, as well as careful testing of temporary fence gaps that showed wildlife could cross safely without increasing train collisions,” said Justine Shanti Alexander, WCS Mongolia Country Director.

MORE STEPPELAND STORIES: 100 Miles of Derelict Fencing Removed by Rewilders Across the Great Plains in Montana

WCS has advanced wildlife connectivity and khulan recolonization in eastern Mongolia through the vital support of several key partners, not least of which was the Mongolian government.

Plans are advancing for a new local protected area east of the railway to support long-term habitat security and khulan recolonization.

An unsubstantiated claim on Mongolia’s Wikipedia page suggests that after gaining independence, there was “enthusiasm to declare 100 percent of the country as a national park,” but that the country eventually settled on 30%—a marker that recently became an international standard.

The country currently protects 13% of its land and water, but a recent agreement with the Nature Conservancy will see that taken to 30% if all goes to plan.

Hoshoryu withdraws from summer tournament after Day 1 www.news.mn

Yokozuna Hoshoryu pulled out Monday from the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament after injuring his right hamstring in his opening bout the previous day. The 26-year-old grand champion limped from the ring and was carried in a wheelchair following his Day 1 loss to komusubi Takayasu at Tokyo’s Ryogoku Kokugikan arena. Hoshoryu’s stablemaster said the Mongolian-born grappler had no option to remain in the tournament after being unable to walk later Sunday night.

“It seems like something snapped,” said stablemaster Tatsunami, formerly komusubi Asahiyutaka. “He had been in good shape and perhaps let his guard down. We are very sorry to all the fans.”

Hoshoryu’s withdrawal leaves just two of the five wrestlers currently occupying sumo’s top two ranks — ozeki Kirishima and Kotozakura — still competing in the 15-day meet.

Yokozuna Onosato is out of action with a nagging rotator cuff injury, while ozeki Aonishiki damaged his ankle while preparing for the tournament. Both announced their absence on Friday.

Hoshoryu, the nephew of Mongolian great Asashoryu, has withdrawn from a tournament for the eighth time in his career and the third time since his promotion to sumo’s highest rank in March last year. The two-time Emperor’s Cup winner has yet to lift the trophy as a yokozuna.

KYODO NEWS

Cabinet approves 7 strategic decisions to liberalize energy sector www.gogo.mn

Following its latest session, the Cabinet has announced seven key initiatives aimed at liberalizing the national energy sector and ensuring long-term stability. 

Timely completion of Selenge power plant: The 70 MW thermal power plant currently under construction in Selenge province via private investment will be prioritized to ensure it begins operations on schedule.

Acceleration of "Zes Oyu" Substation: Construction of the "Zes Oyu" (Copper Oyu) power transmission substation will be expedited to improve regional grid connectivity.

Emergency battery storage deployment: To mitigate the risk of power outages during peak demand hours, the government will fast-track the installation of advanced battery energy storage systems.

Domestic solar expansion: National companies will lead the construction and immediate commissioning of new solar power plants across five provinces to diversify the energy mix.

Efficiency-driven cost reductions: The Cabinet has mandated a 3% reduction in electricity and heat transmission and distribution costs, to be achieved through operational efficiencies in the short term.

Smart energy monitoring: A user-centered digital system will be launched, allowing citizens to monitor their real-time energy consumption directly via mobile devices.

Nationwide heat metering: A comprehensive project to install heat meters at every stage of the distribution network is scheduled for full implementation by the third quarter of 2026. 

Roundtable Recap | British Business Centre Ulaanbaatar “Frontier AI for Strategic Problem-Solving” — a working session, not a lecture www.britishbusinesscentre.com

Yesterday, (10 May 2026) at the British Business Centre: a roundtable working session on applying frontier AI to real strategic problems. 
The highlight — 
A live agentic AI demo on Perplexity, 
Showing how it combines real-time web research with multi-step reasoning in a single query. 
Ts.Tsend moderated and demonstrated throughout: 16 years in Mongolian and international mining and finance, with senior leadership in the international investment banking system (🏦BNP Paribas)
Next session: June 2026. Seats limited.
British Business Centre 976 77552002, 976 99066062

Government, Rio Tinto Agree to Resolve Unpaid Water Pollution Fees www.montsame.mn

Oyu Tolgoi LLC still has outstanding payments related to water use and water pollution fees, including MNT 4.8 billion required under an official directive issued by the National Audit Office following a claim by the General Department of Taxation, MNT 1.5 billion assessed by the Water Agency of Mongolia as of the first quarter of this year, as well as unpaid water pollution fees for 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.

In response, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Sandag-Ochir Tsend met on May 8, with Amarjargal Khenchbish, Country Director of Rio Tinto in Mongolia, and Munkhsukh Sukhbaatar, Chief Executive Officer of Oyu Tolgoi LLC, to discuss the settlement of the unpaid water pollution charges, improvement of land rehabilitation efforts, and cooperation in supporting the upcoming COP17 conference.

According to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, the parties discussed the outstanding issues and agreed to resolve them.

Minister Sandag-Ochir stated that the ministry supports socially responsible mining operations that comply with Mongolia’s Constitution and environmental legislation and apply environmentally friendly technologies. He noted that cooperation between the public and private sectors depends heavily on mutual understanding and emphasized the importance of complying with relevant laws and regulations. In this regard, he welcomed efforts to resolve the payment of outstanding water use and pollution fees.

The ministry also noted that participation in COP17 would provide private sector companies with opportunities to access blended financing, establish partnerships with international organizations and investors, and gain international experience.

More than 190 UN member states have expressed interest in participating in the conference. Officials emphasized that Rio Tinto and Oyu Tolgoi LLC, as operators of major mining projects, should support and cooperate with the event while setting an example for other companies in the sector.