Cleaner-burning stoves help tackle pollution in Mongolia

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientists are working with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a U.S. foreign aid agency, to improve air quality in Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia by lowering emissions from outdated stoves and boilers. In 2010 the agency approached Berkeley Lab’s Ashok Gadgil, the driving force behind the Berkeley-Darfur stoves, to lend vision and technical expertise to solving Mongolia’s air quality problem. Their focus has been on the coal-burning stoves used for heating and cooking that are found in every ger, a round, tent-like structure that is a common form of housing in Ulaan Baatar. MCC has a five-year project in Mongolia to reduce poverty and promote sustainable economic growth.