Opening remarks by Tapan Mishra, UN Resident Coordinator in Mongolia at the “Climate Change and City” NDC Forum Erdenet City, May 30, 2022

His Excellency Mr. Bat-Erdene Bat-Ulzii, Minister of Environment and Tourism of Mongolia

Mr. Paulo Vieira, Head of Foreign Affairs of the International Partnership for the Implementation of Nationally Determined Contribution

His Excellency Batjargal, Governor of Orkhon Aimag and Mayor of the beautiful Erdenet City

Distinguished guests and colleagues including from the UN,

First and foremost, I would like to thank the Ministry of Environment and Tourism of Mongolia, for organizing this event and the invitation to speak at this important forum on “Climate Change and City” and the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). The United Nations is a proud partner of this forum, and it is a great privilege for me to speak alongside such distinguished speakers on a topic of profound importance, for Mongolia and the world. In today’s event, I am also very pleased to see the active engagement from UN agencies, both resident and non-resident, including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP).

Today’s topic is more relevant than ever before against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic and with less than 8 years to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In this light, I applaud the commitment from the previous President of Mongolia, H.E. Battulga Khaltmaa, who announced the ambitious new conditional NDC pledge with the mitigation target of 27.2% emission reduction by 2030 to deliver on the Paris Agreement, during the Climate Ambition Summit 2020.

As the UN Resident Coordinator in Mongolia, I would like to share three reflections on Mongolia’s aim to intensify the implementation of the NDC action plan at the national, city and local levels, improve inter-sectoral coordination, promote green finance, technology, innovation, and solutions, and how the UN is and will be supporting these efforts:

1. It is now or never: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change flagship UN Report on Climate Change released in April 2022 paints a stark reality that we are on a pathway to global warming of more than double the 1.5-degree (Celsius, or 2.7-degrees Fahrenheit) limit. The UN Secretary-General insists that unless governments everywhere reassess their energy policies, the world will be uninhabitable. For Mongolia, the energy and agriculture sectors are the largest GHG emitters, contributing to more than 80% of the country’s total emissions. Ladies and gentlemen, it is really now or never, we need to work together to take drastic climate mitigation and adaptation measures in order to meet the new NDC pledge in Mongolia, take action to transition to renewable energy and diversify the economy.
2. The UN’s Current Work: The UN Family in Mongolia is already supporting the Government to reach the new ambitious NDC pledge of 27.2%, at the national and city level. For example, UNDP is implementing the “Deepening efforts to accelerate NDC implementation” project, which has an objective to ensure a well-coordinated NDC process for effective NDC implementation in the construction and transportation sectors. With funding from the European Commission, UNDP is also supporting the government to address pollution as a part of the broader efforts to respond to environmental degradation and climate change. In addition, in support of addressing the challenges of low-carbon resilient urbanization and building the capacity of policymakers in national and local governments, UN-ESCAP has collaborated with the Climate Change Research and Cooperation Centre (CCRCC) of Mongolia is applying various “Science, Technologies and Innovation” instruments to train key stakeholders in Mongolia.
3. Moving Forward with the UNSDCF: Moving forward, the support of the UN to enable Mongolia to achieve the NDC pledge will only accelerate. I am immensely proud to share that on May 20, 2022, the United Nations and the Government of Mongolia signed the first-ever UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework after endorsement by the Cabinet. This Framework is the blueprint for the UN development system’s cooperation with the Government of Mongolia from 2023 to 2027, which will help operationalize the UN Reforms. I am pleased to share that in this Cooperation Framework, Green, Inclusive and Sustainable Growth, with a focus on a green economy and protecting the planet, is highly prioritized. Working hand-in-hand with the Government of Mongolia at the national and city levels, the UN stands ready to contribute to the implementation of the NDCs, including the implementation of the NDC action plan.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The world today is facing unprecedented health, economic, and climate challenges, all of which are interlinked, increasingly complex and often competing. In Mongolia, we are in the face of a triple threat: the ongoing pandemic, the war in Ukraine, as well as persistent and protracted border closure with China. While addressing the most immediate challenges, I would like to urge everyone here today to not lose sight of the bigger picture. The threat of irreversible damage to the planet that will be felt for centuries to come is very real, and the need to take drastic measures to combat the adverse impact of climate change needs to happen now. For Mongolia, achieving the ambitious NDC pledge of 27.2% would require not only a whole-of-society approach, but we also need to go beyond “business-as-usual” and be unafraid of trying new approaches and innovative solutions.

With this, I wish this Forum great success and thank you very much!