Mongolia : Climate-Smart Mining for a New Climate Economy
The technical assistance (TA) will leverage Asian Development Bank (ADB) knowledge, finance, and partnerships to support Mongolia in strengthening the development of export-oriented low-carbon industries, including rare earth minerals required for renewable energy technology manufacturing. The TA will enhance Mongolia's capacity for effective low-carbon industrial strategy and planning, identify barriers and opportunities for finance mobilization, propose a package of policy reforms needed for scaling up opportunities and addressing barriers, and develop a work plan for the government to provide proof of concept and build stakeholder support for an industrial green economy transformation focused on critical minerals and other metals needed to fuel the global race to net-zero.
Project Details
-
Project Officer
Schinn, Dustin S.
East Asia Department
Request for information -
Country/Economy
Mongolia -
Sector
- Industry and trade
| Project Name | Climate-Smart Mining for a New Climate Economy | ||||
| Project Number | 57273-001 | ||||
| Country / Economy | Mongolia |
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| Project Status | Active | ||||
| Project Type / Modality of Assistance | Technical Assistance |
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| Source of Funding / Amount |
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| Operational Priorities | OP3: Tackling climate change, building climate and disaster resilience, and enhancing environmental sustainability OP7: Fostering regional cooperation and integration |
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| Sector / Subsector |
Energy / Energy sector development and institutional reform Finance / Trade finance Industry and trade / Industry and trade sector development |
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| Gender | Some gender elements | ||||
| Description | The technical assistance (TA) will leverage Asian Development Bank (ADB) knowledge, finance, and partnerships to support Mongolia in strengthening the development of export-oriented low-carbon industries, including rare earth minerals required for renewable energy technology manufacturing. The TA will enhance Mongolia's capacity for effective low-carbon industrial strategy and planning, identify barriers and opportunities for finance mobilization, propose a package of policy reforms needed for scaling up opportunities and addressing barriers, and develop a work plan for the government to provide proof of concept and build stakeholder support for an industrial green economy transformation focused on critical minerals and other metals needed to fuel the global race to net-zero. The TA will support the development of an enabling environment that is aimed at catalyzing mid- to long-term investments focused on long-term climate goals, based on context-specific opportunities for job creation, human capital development and economic growth in Mongolia, and identify a suite of potential financing mechanisms and approaches that could unlock the required investments at scale. | ||||
| Project Rationale and Linkage to Country/Regional Strategy | The global race to net-zero and the shift to clean energy technologies will require significantly more minerals compared to fossil fuel-based technologies, as the manufacturing of clean energy technologies depends on critical minerals. For example, electric vehicle manufacturing is estimated to require six times more mineral resources than fossil fuel-based vehicles. Some projections place the size of the global market for low-carbon goods and services at $3 trillion$6 trillion in 2050, up from $178 billion in 2015. To meet the Paris Agreement goals, demand by 2040 is set to increase by 90% for lithium, 60%70% for nickel and cobalt, and 40% for copper and rare earth minerals. However, the supply of critical minerals is not guaranteed. This economic benefit can be captured by countries with natural resources critical to the manufacturing of renewable technologies; countries that can provide abundant, cheap, clean energy; and countries with the ability to manufacture and export quality technology at low costs. However, a lack of geological surveys, poor infrastructure and logistics, and a deterring overall investment climate hamper Mongolia's ability to position itself in the global renewable energy technology supply chains, while the global race to net zero is dependent on additional mining and processing of rare earth minerals and other metals required as input for the manufacturing of clean energy technologies. At the same time, Mongolia's ambition to transform into a dynamic and modern economy with a thriving middle class by 2050 requires economic diversification and human capital development. Institutional capacity needs to be built to promote effective low-carbon industrial planning and financing environments that can provide sustainable, climate-smart livelihoods for future generations. As mining operations can carry potential environmental and social impact risks, it is also critical that any aspirations for climate-smart mining be accompanied by the development and implementation of environmentally and socially sustainable mining safeguards. The TA will have the following outcome: improve policy integration and enabling environment for climate-smart mining and processing of minerals for climate action. The TA will be structured around two components as follows: Output 1: Policy advice for the development of a climate-smart mining strategy and national policy to position Mongolia in the global clean energy supply chain finalized. Output 2: Capacity to catalyze investment in exploration and processing of climate-smart minerals enhanced. | ||||
| Impact | Climate-smart mining for a new climate economy by 2050 enabled (Mongolia's Vision 2050) |
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| Project Outcome | |
|---|---|
| Description of Outcome | Policy integration and enabling environment for climate-smart mining and processing of minerals for climate action improved |
| Progress Toward Outcome | |
| Implementation Progress | |
| Description of Project Outputs | Capacity to catalyze investment in exploration and processing of climate-smart minerals enhanced |
| Status of Implementation Progress (Outputs, Activities, and Issues) | |
| Geographical Location | Nation-wide |
| Summary of Environmental and Social Aspects | |
|---|---|
| Environmental Aspects | |
| Involuntary Resettlement | |
| Indigenous Peoples | |
| Stakeholder Communication, Participation, and Consultation | |
| During Project Design | |
| During Project Implementation | |
| Responsible ADB Officer | Schinn, Dustin S. |
| Responsible ADB Department | East Asia Department |
| Responsible ADB Division | Office of the Director General, EARD (EAOD) |
| Executing Agencies |
Ministry of Economy and Development |
| Timetable | |
|---|---|
| Concept Clearance | 29 Nov 2023 |
| Fact Finding | 01 Nov 2023 to 07 Dec 2023 |
| MRM | - |
| Approval | 13 Dec 2023 |
| Last Review Mission | - |
| Last PDS Update | 13 Dec 2023 |
TA 10237-MON
| Milestones | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approval | Signing Date | Effectivity Date | Closing | ||
| Original | Revised | Actual | |||
| 13 Dec 2023 | 20 Dec 2023 | 20 Dec 2023 | 30 Jun 2026 | - | - |
| Financing Plan/TA Utilization | Cumulative Disbursements | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADB | Cofinancing | Counterpart | Total | Date | Amount | |||
| Gov | Beneficiaries | Project Sponsor | Others | |||||
| 500,000.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 500,000.00 | 05 Jan 2024 | 0.00 |
Project Data Sheets (PDS) contain summary information on the project or program. Because the PDS is a work in progress, some information may not be included in its initial version but will be added as it becomes available. Information about proposed projects is tentative and indicative.
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| Title | Document Type | Document Date |
|---|---|---|
| Climate-Smart Mining for a New Climate Economy: Technical Assistance Report | Technical Assistance Reports | Dec 2023 |
Safeguard Documents See also: Safeguards
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Evaluation Documents See also: Independent Evaluation
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Related Publications
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Tenders
| Tender Title | Type | Status | Posting Date | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CS1 | Firm - Consulting | Closed |
Contracts Awarded
Procurement Plan
None currently available.