Ulaanbaatar
PM addresses at National Forum on Air Pollution
Society
Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ At the National Forum on Air Pollution, held on October 23 at State House, Prime Minister U. Khurelsukh delivered a speech.
He said, “In 2008-2016, the country spent over MNT147 billion for projects and programs to reduce air pollution in Ulaanbaatar city. With the loans of international organizations worth USD60 million, it has implemented many projects on improving stoves, low-pressure stoves and fuels, and increasing consumption of gas fuel and eco-bus and conducting experiments to connect households into gas. They showed certain results, but did not reach expected outcome. The outcome is insufficient and Ulaanbaatar’s air quality still indicates higher pollution than the standards in winter time. With its resolution #98, Mongolia’s Government approved ‘National program on reduction of air and environment pollution’ in 2017, for a purpose to create safe living environment for population. Actions to respond to air and environment pollution will surely take much financing. At first, we need to use internal potentiality and resources. According to the Law on Fee for Air Pollutants passed in 2010, four types of fees from coal burning, automobiles, organic substances and other sources started being accumulated to the state budget. As a result, about MNT12-30 billion is annually accumulated.”
“The law was amended in 2015, but government’s special fund and Clean Air Fund were liquidated. It caused the financing to drastically decrease. Finally, incomes from the fees have not been expended appropriately. Thus, it needs to create legal regulation to expend the accumulated income for actual purpose. Therefore, bills to amend the Law on Air and other related laws were worked out, discussed at the Cabinet Meeting and submitted to the Parliament in order to establish government’s fund against air pollution. An establishment of this special fund of government is believed to enhance financing and widen a scope of responsive actions,” he added.
“Restricting a consumption of unprocessed coal will be a main direction of further actions. To do so, public and private partnership is required to carry out actions, such as to enlarge energy potentiality, introduce new energy efficient technology to decrease heat loss and liquefy and gasify coal. Alongside, I support President’s proposal to establishing new settlement. Effective works are in need to decrease chimneys and buld apartments in ger areas and decentralize. On the other side, civil organizations and citizens are vital to collaborate and fulfill their duty on combating air pollution. We will cooperate with non-government organizations such as ‘Association of Mothers and Fathers against Smoke’ and Civil Council on Environment,” PM pointed out.
In the end of his speech, PM emphasized, “We have goals, programs and objectives and legal environment. ‘National Program on Reduction of Air and Environment Pollution’ targets to decrease pollutants by 80 percent, completely prohibit the use of unprocessed coal in areas except thermal power plants in Ulaanbaatar and reduce air and environment pollution by minimum 50 percent by 2025.”
He said, “In 2008-2016, the country spent over MNT147 billion for projects and programs to reduce air pollution in Ulaanbaatar city. With the loans of international organizations worth USD60 million, it has implemented many projects on improving stoves, low-pressure stoves and fuels, and increasing consumption of gas fuel and eco-bus and conducting experiments to connect households into gas. They showed certain results, but did not reach expected outcome. The outcome is insufficient and Ulaanbaatar’s air quality still indicates higher pollution than the standards in winter time. With its resolution #98, Mongolia’s Government approved ‘National program on reduction of air and environment pollution’ in 2017, for a purpose to create safe living environment for population. Actions to respond to air and environment pollution will surely take much financing. At first, we need to use internal potentiality and resources. According to the Law on Fee for Air Pollutants passed in 2010, four types of fees from coal burning, automobiles, organic substances and other sources started being accumulated to the state budget. As a result, about MNT12-30 billion is annually accumulated.”
“The law was amended in 2015, but government’s special fund and Clean Air Fund were liquidated. It caused the financing to drastically decrease. Finally, incomes from the fees have not been expended appropriately. Thus, it needs to create legal regulation to expend the accumulated income for actual purpose. Therefore, bills to amend the Law on Air and other related laws were worked out, discussed at the Cabinet Meeting and submitted to the Parliament in order to establish government’s fund against air pollution. An establishment of this special fund of government is believed to enhance financing and widen a scope of responsive actions,” he added.
“Restricting a consumption of unprocessed coal will be a main direction of further actions. To do so, public and private partnership is required to carry out actions, such as to enlarge energy potentiality, introduce new energy efficient technology to decrease heat loss and liquefy and gasify coal. Alongside, I support President’s proposal to establishing new settlement. Effective works are in need to decrease chimneys and buld apartments in ger areas and decentralize. On the other side, civil organizations and citizens are vital to collaborate and fulfill their duty on combating air pollution. We will cooperate with non-government organizations such as ‘Association of Mothers and Fathers against Smoke’ and Civil Council on Environment,” PM pointed out.
In the end of his speech, PM emphasized, “We have goals, programs and objectives and legal environment. ‘National Program on Reduction of Air and Environment Pollution’ targets to decrease pollutants by 80 percent, completely prohibit the use of unprocessed coal in areas except thermal power plants in Ulaanbaatar and reduce air and environment pollution by minimum 50 percent by 2025.”
M. Unurzul
