The Standing Committee on Nature, Environment, Food and
Agriculture decided on December 22 to forward to Parliament the proposal to
allocate MNT1.8 trillion to a national program on climate change that will be
spent on environmental protection, including post-mining reclamation.

E.Bat-Uul was against the program as, according to him, it
was less intended to protect the environment than to help business. There are
already some 500 programs and projects that have been cleared but cannot be
implemented because of lack of money. He answers our journalist’s questions on
his stand.

Why do you oppose the program?

There is no clear list of programs that will be implemented
with this MNT1.8 trillion or USD1 billion. I asked Minister of Nature,
Environment and Tourism L.Gansukh about our priorities. We cannot pay the
children’s allowance, we raise taxes to meet the budget deficit, and people’s
lives are getting harder. There is prediction that raw resources prices will
fall in the second half of 2011. So I asked him if this is the time to take up
such hugely expensive programs.

What answer did you get?

There was nothing definite. We have to face the people when
they see the real situation. The Government has been adopting programs with
huge capital outlays involving both the private sector and the state.

For example?

“Smokeless Ulaanbaatar” demands MNT18.2 trillion to be
implemented. In my opinion, people have to be convinced of the purposes of the
programs. There is talk that the Asian Winter Games would be organized in
Ulaanbaatar in 202.

When will work on Smokeless Ulaanbaatar start?

It should have already begun but there is no sign. People
are tired of promises and big talk. All programs now need unheard of sums of
money. We never talked about trillions but it seems a common unit nowadays.