This summer, reporters visited the Chingeltei district's ger area in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, where deep blue solar panels neatly lined courtyards and the exteriors of traditional nomadic dwellings, gleaming under the sun. As a typical ger district in Mongolia's capital, the area's residents live scattered across the region with no access to centralized heating networks, having long relied on burning raw coal in open flames for warmth. Especially during autumn and winter, the city experiences a sharp rise in air pollution and fire hazards, making this a key yet challenging focus for Ulaanbaatar's ecological governance and livelihood security efforts.
To explore new models for clean energy transition in ger districts, the United Nations Development Programme's office in Mongolia launched a pilot initiative in 2024. The program provided 69 households in Ulaanbaatar's ger areas with solar photovoltaic systems equipped with battery storage and thermal-storage electric heaters. These systems also integrate AI-driven modules to monitor carbon emission reductions and convert them into carbon credits. Building on this foundation, in September 2025, a project titled "Transforming Ulaanbaatar's Ger Districts with Solar Photovoltaic Systems," supported by China-initiated Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund, was implemented in the Chingeltei district, aiming to cover 500 households in the clean energy transition.
"Installing the photovoltaic equipment last September fundamentally changed how our family gets through the winter," said Oroso Dolma, a resident of Chingeltei district, detailing the improvements. In previous years, she had to stockpile coal for winter heating during summer and autumn, with coal piles occupying courtyard space and turning muddy and messy during rains. The long winters relied solely on open-flame coal burning, which brought heavy expenses for purchasing, transporting, and storing coal, while smoke filled the home and the air remained polluted. This summer, the entire photovoltaic system operated efficiently and continuously, storing energy at high capacity.
After nearly a year of use, Dolma has gained deeper appreciation for the changes brought by clean energy. She noted that the solar storage system harnesses ample sunlight to store electricity, enabling round-the-clock constant-temperature heating and stable power supply for the entire home. It has completely eliminated past reliance on raw coal burning, achieving zero open flames, zero smoke, and zero odors. Not only does it significantly cut annual heating costs, but the smoke-free, safe home environment also provides all-around protection for her children's health and household safety.
"I thank the Chinese government for bringing us such a wonderful project," Dolma said. Having personally experienced the convenience, safety, cost savings, and environmental benefits of photovoltaic equipment, she has proactively shared her experience with neighbors and actively recommended that fellow residents join the project's renovation efforts, encouraging more families to abandon traditional coal-burning methods.
According to official project operations and maintenance data, once the photovoltaic renovation project in Chingeltei district is fully operational, it can substantially replace scattered coal consumption each year, cut carbon emissions and airborne particulate pollutants, and tackle the root cause of Ulaanbaatar's chronic winter air pollution problem. On the 17th, Mongolia's Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Ts. Sandag-Ochir, told reporters that the project precisely aligns with Mongolia's "Billion Trees" national ecological restoration strategy. Grounded in the region's seasonal grassland characteristics, it applies targeted measures to solve a major ecological challenge through a small-scale livelihood project.
From the UN agency's initial technical pilot to the large-scale, inclusive rollout by China's Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund, China and Mongolia have jointly developed a replicable and scalable comprehensive governance model—"photovoltaics plus livelihoods plus ecology plus carbon sinks"—tailored to Ulaanbaatar's ger districts.