Air pollution continues to be the top environmental problem facing the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar. A working group for fighting air pollution has been established by decree of the Speaker of Parliament; funding to implement solutions has been provided in the form of USD 700 million in soft loans from South Korea.

Currently, Ulaanbaatar city administration  is implementing a project to  cut the  night-time electricity tariff for the ‘ger-district’ households, where most of the harmful smoke is produced. More than 160 thousand residents living in ger district are benefiting from the electricity tariff discount by 50-100 percent. The aim is simple – to encourage the population of the ger-districts to use electric heaters and stoves rather than burn coal for heat and cooking. The discount is costing MNT 9 billion. Currently, the working group is considering extending the zero electricity tariff period to 24 hour for the ger-districts.

In addition, households living in most polluted areas can receive apartment loans with 7.5% interest rate. Ulaanbaatar city administration plans to continue with the apartment construction project to provide modern accommodation for 220,000 families.