AIR POLLUTION: SIMPLE SOLUTIONS EXIST
It seems almost a paradox that Ulaanbaatar has one of the worst air pollution levels on earth, being the capital of the country with the “eternal blue sky” with the lowest population density in the world. When air pollution in Beijing rose above 500 micrograms of particulates per cubic meter, the media called it an “apocalypse”. Ulaanbaatar’s air pollution rate reached 1,600 micrograms during last winter, more than 65 times the acceptable level of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Although Chinese’s air pollution is the result of factories and road traffic, the Mongolian form is mostly the result of the coal burned in stoves to fight harsh winter cold. In fact, in the coldest days, temperatures can dip below 40 degrees. This toxic cloud is mainly generated in the ger districts, where poverty can force families to burn anything they can find to stay warm.
In addition to this, due to pressure from international organizations, the Mongolian government is studying a solution to solve this urgent problem. Gunbileg Lkhagvasuren, officer of the National Committee on Reducing Air Pollution, stated, “The government is taking action to reduce contamination by promoting the use of electric heaters in the poorest districts. In fact, 80 percent of air pollution comes from gers, 10 percent from traffic, six percent from thermal power stations and four percent from floating particles.”
According to the governmental plan, the main goal is to halve the number of the particulate pollutants and the concentration of sulfur trioxide in the air. Even though it would not be correct to shift the blame only on the ger district inhabitants of Ulaanbaatar, the air pollution problem keeps persisting and the government hasn’t made considerable progress so far, which is why many residents took to protesting actively last winter.
In January and February this year, thousands of people came together in Sukhbatar Square demanding the government to make a real change. The event in which Mongolians stood up for their rights could be considered as a step forward towards a new direction.
The five-year program to combat air pollution approved in March must bring success. A 2013 study by the Canadian Simon Fraser University discovered that 10 percent of death in Ulaanbaatar are linked to air pollution. The study underlined that 29 percent of cardiopulmonary deaths and 40 percent of lung cancer deaths are attributed to air pollution in Ulaanbaatar.
Air pollution is reported to have killed approximately three million people annually across the globe. The most afflicted regions are the Western Pacific and South East Asia.
WHO said, “About 90 percent of people breathe air that does not comply with the WHO Air Quality Guidelines.”
A WHO study underlined the necessity for immediate change, particularly in terms of information. It said, “More epidemiological studies of the longterm effects of exposure to air pollution in lowincome settings are urgently needed to better inform the exposureresponse relationships. There is a huge gap in monitoring and reporting air pollutants in low and middleincome regions, especially in Africa and Asia but also other regions. Strengthening capacities of cities to monitor their air quality with standardized methods, reliable and good quality instrumentation, and sustainable structures is key.”
Outside Ulaanbaatar, the air quality situation is much better. Lauri Myllvirta of Greenpeace explained to the UB Post that, “Inner Mongolia is relatively clean and not that much affected by the Eastern China’s air pollution. Even though there can be conditions in which smog from China, i.e. from the northeastern part called Manchuria, travels to Mongolia”.
According to some experts, air quality in Mongolia’s southern region could be affected by pollution in China. Shazia Rafi, president of Air Quality Asia and consultant specialized in parliamentary diplomacy related to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, told the UB Post, “Some of Mongolian air pollution comes from industrial and thermal pollutants from China.” The problem is not only present in Mongolia, because both Korea and Japan face similar issues. Chinese air pollution is transboundary,” added Rafi.
According to her, “China has started to change towards renewable energy in 2013 but reversing a huge economy is a slow process”.
Meanwhile, the most heavily affected group from air pollution tend to be the most vulnerable groups. “Cleaning up the air we breathe prevents noncommunicable diseases as well as reduces disease risks among women and vulnerable groups, including children and the elderly,” said Flavia Bustreo, WHO Assistant Director-General Family, Women and Children’s Health. “Poor women and children pay a heavy price from indoor air pollution since they spend more time at home breathing in smoke and soot from leaky coal and wood cook stoves.”
Recently, an international team of 27 researchers, mostly scientists from Stanford University, published a study title “Clean and Renewable Wind, Water, and Sunlight (WWS) All-Sector Energy Roadmaps for 139 Countries of the World”. One of the countries taken into account is Mongolia.
The study wants to propose a solution towards a 100 percent renewable energy, imagining a future without carbon emission. It promotes the changes that 139 air pollutionaffected countries should make in order to completely transfer to renewable energy sources by 2050. The Stanford experts guarantee that “Such a change could mean: less energy consumption due to an efficient, clean and renewable energy; a 24 million longterm jobs increase; an annual decrease of four to seven million deaths per year because of atmospheric pollution; stabilization of energy prices; and an annual saving of over 20 trillion USD in health and climate costs.”
This solution has been criticized for the huge spending needed for the transition to renewable energy. The research team, led by Mark Z. Jacobson, explained, “The cost for the society (energy, health and climate costs) would be a quarter of the current system of fossil fuels. It is an investment that pays for itself over time.”
Solutions exist and, if it’s really wanted, a considerable change can be made. Mongolia and the whole world in general need an urgent change of direction. Otherwise, society as a whole will shoulder the cost of contaminated air.