Last winter, series of protests took place in the capital of Mongolia, organized by a social media group called "Parents against air pollution." It was a desperate cry for help from parents who are worried about their children's well-beings because of the ever rising air pollution rates. According to the statistics provided by the authority, the level of particulate matter in the air is 80 times the recommended level, and five times worse than Beijing. Sadly, the strong will to take action against coal burning seems to melt away as spring comes. It seems unfit to call Mongolia 'the land of the eternal blue sky' now that you cannot even see the sky through thick grey smog.

Mongolia was eager to ratify the Paris agreement from the beginning, but still lags behind when it comes to take actions. There are only 4 power plants providing for over 1 million residents in the capital, and all of them were built during the Soviet era. During the harsh Mongolian winter, power plants work overtime, and release plums of soot into the atmosphere, covering the city with smog. But it would be unfair to solely blame debilitated power plants for the pollution while 57.9 percent of the population is  burning coal to heat their traditional housings.

Mongolia has over 300 known coal deposits with an estimated 152 billion tons of coal. Due to its rich coal reserves, Mongolia is not looking forward to bid farewell to its cheap energy resource. Although there have been several attempts to use hydroelectric power to generate electricity, they have been met with harsh criticism from the society due to its inefficiency and poor engineering. These projects are often very low funded by the Government, and investors do not want to be involved in a project where the process takes too much time.

To replace those rather ancient coal power plants with cleaner ones, laws and regulations must be revised to at least set limits to toxic emissions. Instead of taking an action to build more reliable renewable energy power plants, the Government has been promoting 'Clean stove' that could burn coal efficiently. After spending almost 10 million USD on those so called clean stoves for 4 years, Ulaanbaatar still hides behind that thick smog.

Clean energy resources are evenly distributed throughout the territory. Hydroelectric and wind energy is abundant in the northern mountain regions while on the other hand, solar energy is the best candidate in the southern desert regions. Despite its potential clean energy resources, there are only 9 hydroelectric plants and one wind power plant currently working in Mongolia.

One promising renewable energy technology that can be built in the southern gobi area is solar updraft tower (SUT). SUTs work as follows: the sun warms up the air under the large glass or plastic roof, then that hot air rises to the top, creating a constant air flow that drives the turbines. In fact there is an on-going project to build a SUT prototype in China, close to the southern borders. There is more than enough space for large scale developments, therefore land expenses are significantly cheaper in Mongolia. With this vast land area, it is possible to build effective collector area with relatively small chimney. Especially now that the residents in southern regions are increasing drastically, we will eventually need an additional power source. This clean energy source will replace imported electricity that's being purchased from China, further bringing positive changes to the economy.

Solar towers equipped with carbon filters that are built on top of the coal plants would be another suitable use for polluted urban areas like Ulaanbaatar. The air rushing through the tower would be cleaned, and generate electricity at the same time. This type of clean energy solutions can gradually decrease the air pollution.

Government of Mongolia is now currently working on the draft of Urban Development Law, which aims to improve the legal environment to help Mongolia realize its potential on pursuing low-carbon and resilient urban development through effective governance. This improvement in the legal framework would take us one step away from a horrible event like the Great Smog of London. Estimated 12000 people died from suffocating, and breathing sulfuric acid and smoke for days. Ulaanbaatar city is getting closer and closer to suffer the same fate if we continue to neglect our responsibility to maintain cleaner energy resources.