Climate financing in Mongolia www.montsame.mn

In May, 2017, Mongolian commercial bank “Xacbank” received 500’000 dollars’ grant from Green Climate Fund. It was the first phase of GCF’s 20 million dollar contribution to reduce carbon emission rates in Mongolia. Mongolia’s capital Ulaanbaatar is one of the world's most polluted cities, mainly because of coal-fired power plants, and coal-fueled stoves and boilers which are used to heat homes in this world's coldest national capital. Even though the pollutants in the air is estimated to be 8 times the world standard, Government of Mongolia is too busy dealing with the financial crisis to take actions against it. GCF’s grant could bring major positive changes as it would kick start the biggest climate program with 60 million USD budget. Only 0.07 percent of the national budget goes to the Ministry of Environment and Green Development. Thus, climate projects are in serious need of financing, and that 500’000 USD might have come in just the right time.

Mongolia is known by its vast, beautiful landscapes, wonderful solitudes, and the rich hospitality of nomads. Sadly, the landscape changed drastically due to the sudden increase of mining business. Almost half of the domestic budget comes from coal exports and it doesn’t seem to change in the near future. The biggest attempt to turn into sustainable energy resources are mostly invested by the private sector. Mongolian economy is solely dependent on their export of mining products and income rates shown below illustrates how much Mongolia is in need of an economic support to overcome the challenge.

Corruption
Efficient investment with safe monitoring is crucial when it comes to Mongolia. The reason hardly any foreign investor approaches Mongolia is corruption. To make sure the funding is going to places they intended to, international organizations tends to directly connect with private sectors rather than government officials. Recent events such as partnership with Xacbank proves it as well. But the fact that there are very few corporations big enough to run the financial grant also puts this option at risk. Therefore, careful partnership with the Government with strict monitoring, or funding the private sector to support low-carbon energy sector seems to be two most suitable choices.

Tight provincial budgets 
Despite the fact that all protected landscapes are in the hands of local governments, the state always puts major restraints on provincial budgets. Tight budgets put those local governments in position to issue more mining licenses in order to create their own reserves. They have even started granting mineral exploration licenses after banning it for 5 years due to negative environmental impacts. More mining means more CO2 will be released into the atmosphere, thus, to efficiently finance the climate change mitigation; strong local budgets must be constructed firsthand.

Private sector investment
Mongolia’s first wind farm was built and funded by Newcom LLC and Clean energy LLC, both are private companies. They are currently funding another major sustainable energy project, which is to build the first solar energy plant. Hopefully, other private sectors might take more interest in low-carbon energy sector now that the Xacbank is providing low interest loans. Judging from these facts, it seems that private sectors are pioneering the way towards more climate-friendly Mongolia.

Problems we are facing do not end here. In fact, there are even more problems involving the mining boom Mongolia experienced during the last decade. Mining companies execute land rehabilitation poorly, or not at all; because there is a legal way to make small contribution to local government’s fund rather than constructing rehabilitation. Law makers must reconsider such ways that offer big corporations a way out.

Sustainable energy, responsible mining and strong will to bring positive changes are the things we must do to keep our country as stunning as it has been through the history. Mongolians have worshipped nature for as long as they existed and that love can be the source of motivation to do what is right.
By Tushigjargal Bold

"Mongolia wants to augment trade turnover with Turkey" www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Mongolia-Turkey cooperation, especially in the fields of economy and business are needed to be gone into a new volume, said J.Munkhbat, head of the Cabinet Secretariat for Government, when he met Monday Mr Fatih Ciftci, the Turkey’s Deputy Minister of Customs and Trade. He added Mongolia intends to increase the bilateral trade turnover to USD 250 million.

Tesla set to raise $1.8bn in bond offering www.bbc.com

Tesla expects to raise nearly $1.8bn (£1.4bn) by selling "junk" bonds to private investors - even more than the electric car-maker aimed for when it announced the offering this month.
The firm said the money will keep its balance sheet steady as it ramps up manufacturing of its newest car.
Tesla aims to make 5,000 of its mass market Model 3 a week by the end of this year.
It has estimated it is already spending about $100m a week to hit that target.
On 4 August Tesla said was looking to raise $1.5bn by selling bonds, but said on Friday it now expected to raise $1.77bn from the sale.
The fundraising is limited to major institutions and not private investors.

Japanese Government to fund USD 58 thousand for First Maternity Hospital's renovation project www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Within the frames of the Government of Japan’s “Grant Assistance for Grassroots and Human Security Projects” (GGP), the signing ceremony of First Maternity Hospital’s renovation project was held on August 11.

Facebook finds a way into China www.cnn.com

'Let it be': Mongolians protest as bulldozers threaten Beatles monument www.gogo.mn

ULAANBAATAR (Reuters) - A statue of the Beatles in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar could be at risk amid an alleged land grab, protesters say, as rapid development turns a city once famed for wide open spaces into a cluttered metropolis.
Residents are protesting against plans to build commercial properties in an area known as Beatles Square, where a bronze bas-relief monument to the "Fab Four" commemorates the former Soviet satellite's transition to democracy in 1990.
"For a long time there were stories about construction on the land, but nobody wanted to believe it," said Tsoggerel Uyanga, a community organizer and senior partner at research group MAD Investment Solutions.
The monument, erected in 2008 with donations from politicians, businessmen and artists, marks the site where Mongolians gathered to talk about banned Western pop music and soon became a quirky tourist attraction.
The music of the Beatles, Abba, and other Western pop groups helped launch the "Rock and Roll Communist Revolution" that inspired a generation to fight for Mongolian democracy thirty years ago.
The protests began after an August 2 announcement that construction work would start, with residents calling the project a "land grab" and expressing fears the Beatles statue could be moved or even demolished.
Authorities have defended the development as part of a "car-free street" project to build an underground shopping complex complete with street gardens.
A lawyer for Mongolia's National Construction Association said there were no plans to remove the Beatles statue, however.
"By implementing the project, there are a great deal of advantages, such as increasing jobs and reducing traffic congestion," said D. Uuganbayar, the lawyer.
The national association, the city government and a private contractor called "Buti" are leading the project.
Congestion and pollution have grown in the capital as its population has doubled over the last two decades, with thousands of impoverished herders flocking to settle in makeshift residential areas.
The strain on Ulaanbaatar's infrastructure has forced the city to rethink its planning of urban spaces, and drawn criticism for the sale of public land to wealthy buyers.
Investors have failed in the past to deliver on promises to protect public spaces affected by development, Uyanga said, pointing to the Bogd Khan conservation area where the World Bank had raised concerns about overdevelopment.
"It became a black market for land authorities during the early democratic years," said Uyanga.
Editing by David Stanway and Clarence Fernandez

European Investment bank to support gobi wind farm www.news.mn

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a financing agreement to back the construction of a 54-MW Sainshand wind park in Mongolia’s Gobi desert.

BoM issues 1-week bills www.montsame.mn

The Bank of Mongolia traded 438.4 billion MNT worth 1-week maturity central bank bill (“CBB”), with weighted average yield of 12.0 percent per annum. /For previous auctions click here/.

Global nuclear power capacity could double by 2050 www.rt.com

The world’s installed nuclear power capacity could increase by 123 percent in 2050 compared to 2016 levels, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a report this week.

These projections, however, are the so-called high in 2050. In the low case, the IAEA estimates are for a decline in capacity in the near future, followed by a rebound to current levels nearer 2050. In the high case, nuclear capacity is expected to rise from 2016 levels by 42 percent in 2030, 83 percent in 2040, and by 123 percent by mid-century.

The main factors that are and will be influencing the future of nuclear energy are public acceptance, financing, and electricity markets.

“If nuclear power’s potential as a low-carbon energy source grows in recognition and advanced reactor designs further improve both safety and radioactive waste management, the use of nuclear power could grow significantly,” the IAEA says.

At the end of 2016, installed nuclear capacity reached 392 gigawatts (electrical) (GW(e)), which was the highest level ever, according to the IAEA.

However, funding and safety will be crucial to the development of nuclear energy.

“The safety performance of nuclear installations is crucial to the future of nuclear power, as a strong safety record is essential for its public acceptance,” the IAEA commented, noting that “The financing of nuclear projects is challenging, given the highly capital-intensive nature of such projects, their resulting sensitivity to interest rates and construction durations, and the nature of the uncertainties.”

North America and Europe will see declines in nuclear capacity, while China’s nuclear energy plans will be the main driver of growth, the IAEA reckons.

Oil supermajors BP and ExxonMobil also project that China’s installed nuclear capacity growth will be the key driver of this type of power generation.

In the US, nuclear power currently accounts for around 20 percent of electricity generation. According to the EIA, more nuclear capacity in the US will be retired than built, as other fuels such as natural gas and renewables gain market share. In EIA’s reference case estimates, the share of nuclear in the US electricity generation mix will drop from 20 percent last year to 11 percent in 2050, while natural gas will grow the most, followed by renewables.

According to the IAEA, reduced competitiveness is the main reason for planned premature shutdowns “low natural gas prices, particularly in the USA, caused by a rapid expansion of shale gas production, have fundamentally transformed the energy economy.”

In Europe, Germany ordered the immediate shutdown of eight of its 17 reactors in the wake of the Fukushima disaster in Japan, and plans to phase out nuclear plants by 2022. Earlier this year, Switzerland—which has five ageing nuclear power plants generating one-third of its energy demand—voted to phase out nuclear power in favor of renewables.

The IAEA’s low-case projection is that the share of nuclear in global electricity generation could drop from the current 11 percent to 6 percent in 2050, while the high-case sees that share rising to 13.7 percent in 2050.

BP and Exxon, in their respective 2017 energy outlooks, see nuclear playing a part in the transition of the global fuel mix.

BP’s most recent annual energy outlook sees renewables, together with nuclear and hydroelectric power, accounting for half of the growth in energy supplies over the next 20 years. While nuclear capacity in Europe will decline by 2035 due to decommissioning of ageing plants and little investment in new capacity, Japan could restart some reactors but would not return to pre-Fukushima levels. China’s ambitious nuclear energy plan will account for almost three-quarters of the global increase in nuclear generation. As a result, BP sees the share of coal in China’s energy demand down from around two-thirds in 2015 to less than 45 percent by 2035. Much of the lower share of coal will be replaced by renewables, nuclear, and hydroelectric power, which will supply more than half of China’s increasing energy demands until 2035, BP says.

Exxon’s current outlook through 2040 sees nuclear growing, with more than 50 percent of the growth coming from China.

“Society’s push for lower-emission energy sources will drive substantial increases for nuclear power as well as renewables such as wind and solar. By 2040 nuclear and all renewables will be approaching 25 percent of global energy supplies,” Exxon reckons.

Public acceptance, safety records, the price of natural gas, and climate policies will be crucial to the future of nuclear energy.

This article was originally published on Oilprice.com

Chile's Codelco preparing investment in Mongolian copper www.reuters.com

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chilean state miner Codelco [COBRE.UL], the world's second largest producer of copper, is preparing to invest in far afield Mongolia as the copper market improves, the company's chief executive told Reuters on Friday.