Mongolia has become the first country to join the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) ‘BreatheLife’ campaign in an effort to combat air pollution in Ulaanbaatar.

Pleasant in summertime, Ulaanbaatar, the Mongolian capital has turned into one of most air-polluted cities on the planet during the winter months. This is a major problem for the world’s coldest capital city, where temperatures fall to below -40 deg.C and the hospitals swell to overflowing with sick people, especially children and the elderly. Indoor sources of air pollution, such as the use of coal and wood-based cooking and heating methods, as well as outdoor sources like coal-fueled power plants , vehicle emissions, burning of rubbish, unpaved roads, and dust coming in from the desert is making the Mongolia’s sky grey and the acrid air is painful to breath.

Under the campaign, Mongolia commits to take real action to bring the air quality in urban areas back to safe levels. Supported by the organisations behind BreatheLife, the government will aim to manage fuel and emission standards in the transport and energy sectors; limit the usage of poor quality coal for household fuel; facilitate the diffusion of leading low carbon technologies, products, systems, services, and infrastructure; support policy implementation and holistic knowledge on waste management; and inform, educate and empower citizens through public awareness campaigns.

To achieve the development of a long-term sustainable and green economy, the government of Mongolia is supported by the Partnership for Action on Green Economy or ‘PAGE’ initiative.