‘Switch Off Air Pollution’ project keeps providing jobs during the COVID-19

The project aims to retrofit and insulate 1000 households in ger peri urban district of Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar. It trains brigades and craftsmen on energy efficient insulation to get certified, who, then, will insulate households that will be 30% more energy efficient at minimum and decrease coal emission in the same percentage as the result of the proper insulation. The households, who want to insulate their detached houses, can take the annual 8% interest rate green loan from local commercial Xac bank for 30 months length. Proper insulation requires quality materials, certified construction techniques and energy audits, which can be conducted only by certified craftsmen and the project intermediates between these actors. These actions are also intended to reduce the level of pollution in Ulaanbaatar which, once, was named the most polluted capital city in the world.

More about Switch Off Air Pollution: Mainly cofinanced by the European Union’s under the Switch Asia programme, with additional support from Abbe Pierre Foundation, Czech Development Agency and the French Development Agency; the Switch Off Air Pollution project is being implemented by the Energy Efficiency Expert INGO, Geres Mongolia in collaboration with Building Energy Efficiency Center of the Mongolian University of Science and Technology, GCMC, Mongolian National Construction Association and People in Need INGO during the 20182021 period. Project website www.dulaalga.mn and mobile application Dulaalga on IOS and Android

About main implementer Geres Mongolia: Set up in 1976, Geres is a French development NGO working in Europe, Africa and Asia to improve living conditions of the most vulnerable and fighting against climate change and its impacts. The energy transition serves as a major lever for putting that solidarity into practice. And to that end, Geres encourages the development and rollout of innovative, locally based solutions, and supports territorial climate and energy policies. In 1994, Geres worked briefly in Mongolia with a regional association planning to rehabilitate health centers. The organization returned to the country in 2010 to find ways of increasing vegetable production to reduce the risks of food insecurity. Since then, Geres Mongolia has been introducing 276 energyefficient, affordable, and locally adapted passive solar green houses and 30 bioclimatic cellars while improving livelihood of rural communities in Ulaanbaatar, Arkhangai and Khentii, through greater access to locally produced organic vegetables and income generation, benefiting 3600 farmers.

From the end of 2016 until 2019, Geres implemented the CEMAATERRI programme in Arkhangai was the territorial approach to address climate change and energy challenges. As a result of the climate vulnerability risk assessment of the project, CEMAATERRI provided support to local decision makers taking into account climate changes effects when establishing development plans and held climate change awareness raising activities with 2500 people. In accordance, 110m2 energy efficient building for the domestic violence victims and 2 passive solar greenhouses in Arkhangai, were built, respectively. CEMAATERR second phase, 2019 to 2022, aims now to support the development of Arkhangai Energy Efficiency Action Plan for buildings, as a way of mitigating climate changes effect and reducing air pollution in the province. www.geres.eu