The new Mid-term Energy Program of Mongolia disregards financial, environmental and climate commitments – may increase significantly Mongolia’s debt and carbon footprint.
For a country that just narrowly escaped financial default[1], the new energy mid—term program of Mongolia (2018- 2023) suggesting to increase current debt burden by borrowing USD 4.0 billion to expedite development of 8000 megawatts of coal-thermal energy production capacity is a reckless plan to say the least.
With current electricity generation system of Mongolia totaling around 1200 MW this is a bold increase, which will have consequences for …

Among non-island nations of the world, Mongolian people, likely, are now experiencing the worst consequences of climate change and the country’s government recently publicly welcomed climate skeptics to come over and see the evidence. "Do not wait until it gets You!" appealed to other governments Mongolia Foreign Minister Tsogtbaatar . However, despite having enormous solar and wind resources, Mongolia is not willing to lead by its own example. Instead it is planning for a 9 – fold increase of its coal-thermal generation.
On October 24, 2018 Government …

Greed, corruption and vanity – are main driving forces not letting large dams to sink despite the obvious fact they no longer make economic sense. New brilliant article in Yale 360 proves that.
The rise of wind and solar power, coupled with the increasing social, environmental and financial costs of hydropower projects, could spell the end of an era of big dams. But even anti-dam activists say it’s too early to declare the demise of large-scale hydro.

Dynamics of annual hydropower installation globally according to data from International hydropower association –IHA (MW) …

Degradation of UN institutions catering to special interest groups has reached a new height. The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) in March 2018 started a partnership “Sustainable Water and Energy Solutions” with the Itaipu Binacional Hydropower (Brazil-Paraguay) company which holds the world record of annual energy production for a hydroelectric plant. It also holds a record of environmental destruction. Therefore decades after reservoir completion significant resources are still devoted by the company to offset its disastrous impact on biodiversity and well-being of local communities. In …

On 19 November 2018, the Council of Foreign Affairs of the European Union (EU) adopted conclusions on water diplomacy
which promote accession and implementation of the Water Convention
.

The Council recalls that water is a prerequisite for human survival and dignity and a fundamental basis for the resilience of both societies and the environment. Water is vital for human nutrition and health, and essential for ecosystem management, agriculture, energy and overall planetary security.
The Council notes the potential of water scarcity to affect peace and security, as water related risks can have …

Since March 2018 all overseas investment projects “affecting transboundary water resources” are classified by China Government as “sensitive”  and “restricted” and should be subjected to detailed assessment of their impacts on countries of investment and reputation of Chinese institutions and policies. Environmental and local livelihoods concerns are among key reasons why  projects of this type were “restricted”. Dams of the Mekong River mainstream backed by Chinese  companies are the glaring examples of  catastrophic consequences of poorly designed projects. It seems to be a high time for the Government of China …