ADB Approves Loan to Spur Climate Action in Mongolia

ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA (18 November 2024) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $100 million policy-based loan to help accelerate and sustain investment in climate action in Mongolia.

The Accelerating Climate Investment Program (Subprogram 1) will help Mongolia achieve its nationally determined contribution (NDC) and implement its National Adaptation Plan (NAP), including promoting gender-responsive actions.

“The program will help Mongolia anchor climate action in national plans and budgets and catalyze public and private climate finance to accelerate a low-carbon, inclusive, and resilient economy,” said ADB Country Director for Mongolia Shannon Cowlin. “This will be achieved by developing climate investment programs, mobilizing affordable and accessible climate finance, and improving the ease of doing business in key sectors.”

Mongolia is vulnerable to climate-related hazards and is particularly at risk of the impacts of global warming. Rising temperatures and intensifying aridity threaten many Mongolians' traditional nomadic herding lifestyle. The severity and frequency of climate-related hazards, like dzuds, have been increasing, causing high livestock mortality. Women and vulnerable communities, such as herders and rural to urban migrants, are most affected by these climate change risks.

The program will help strengthen the institutional framework, investment planning, and budgeting system for climate action. This will include policy actions that would catalyze investments in renewable energy generation; energy efficiency use in the buildings sector; and climate-resilient agriculture, livestock, and food processing.

It will help enhance climate finance and resource management by strengthening the funding and financing of investments in climate action through the issuance of green and sustainable bonds and increasing the green loan portfolio of the banking sector. It also aims to improve the sector investment pathways to low-carbon and climate-resilient development, focusing on energy and agriculture.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 69 members—49 from the region.