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29 February 2024

People at the Heart of PAGE – Tamir Enkhbaatar

Discover interviews featuring people that have collaborated with PAGE at a given time. The purpose is to voice experiences, opinions, and insights on how the green economy is evolving and how the green economic transformation is being implemented around the world.

Mr. Tamir Enkhbaatar is a labor economist with a master’s degree specializing in labor relations and labor economics. He has been working at the Confederation of Mongolian Trade Union since 2015, initially as a specialist on Membership and Organization issues from 2015 to 2017. In 2017, he became the Chairman of the Youth Committee of the Confederation of Mongolian Trade Union. In 2018, he established the Decent Work for Youth Network. Since 2021, he has been elected as the Head of the Mongolian Industrial Trade Union Federation and the Main Coordinator of the Decent Work for Youth national Network.

During this period, he has led numerous activities and gained experience in many joint project programs with the International Labor Organization (ILO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation of Germany. His focus has been on promoting youth employment, fostering decent labor relations in every workplace, and promoting green jobs.

Sharing lessons learned and best practices

PAGE work in Mongolia commenced in 2013, with its first action to support the conception of the National Green Development Policy, which set clear goals to support the country’s green economy transition. PAGE began the phase-out process in Mongolia in 2018, accompanied by the development of a comprehensive sustainability plan to safeguard the progress made over the five-year engagement. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, PAGE support focused on informing energy subsidy reform and promoting economic diversification through a new eco-tourism scheme, in line with the priorities of the Government Action Plan for 2020-2024. Mongolia remains closely tied to the partnership as an alumni country, sharing lessons learned and best practices to help replicate its achievements on a global scale, specifically in the area of sustainable finance.

Q1. When was your first contact with the PAGE team?

During my tenure as Chairman of the Youth Committee of the Confederation of Mongolian Trade Union, I noticed the need to improve cooperation and build understanding between the Mongolian state and civil society organizations to work effectively in promoting decent work for youth. Consequently, the Decent Work for Youth Network was created. The main objectives of our network were to promote decent employment, increase green jobs, and encourage green entrepreneurship among young people. In this context, we submitted a micro-project proposal to the International Labour Organization (ILO) aimed at promoting green jobs for young individuals.

During this period, we discovered that a wide range of activities was already being implemented in this direction within the PAGE project. Considering this, Ms. Bolormaa, the National Coordinator of ILO, connected us with the PAGE project.

 

Q2. Tell us about the Inclusive Green Economy perception at that time in Mongolia and about its evolution since then?

At that time, perceptions and information about the inclusive green economy were just beginning to take shape. Unfortunately, the common notion was that the green economy solely represented an environmentally friendly economic system, with the concept of social and human friendliness being notably weak. Presently, there has been a relative improvement in the understanding of an inclusive green economy among the public, private sector, and civil society organizations. Mechanisms are now being established to support the green economy. The promotion of the green economy is incorporated into public policies, and enterprises are actively implementing vision and development policies to foster environmentally friendly and socially inclusive business models.

This evolution needs to progress further on a wider scale and with greater speed. We believe that the PAGE project has played a significant role in the progress achieved in the development of the green economy in the past and are pleased to have participated and cooperated to a certain extent in this process.

Q3. Today, what are the challenges and opportunities for your country and why?

There are still various challenges in developing an inclusive green economy. Specifically, the Government of Mongolia’s Vision 2050 Long-Term Policy Document has set a goal to achieve results in promoting a green economy and green jobs, but the policies implemented by the state in this area are not proving effective. Particularly concerning the support for the green economy, there is a high need to harmonize the provision of green loans, public loans, subsidies, and economic incentives with policies aimed at promoting the green economy.

Mongolia is covered by the GSP+ program, the general system of discounts of the European Union, allowing about 7200 types of products produced in Mongolia to be traded on the European market at discounted prices. In this context, Mongolia has established environmental and social requirements to produce these products. This positively impacts the development of the green economy in Mongolia to a certain extent. Within the framework of these requirements, the Bank of Mongolia welcomes concrete proposals for the creation of green jobs and the circular economy in the financial and processing industries.

Presently, there has been a relative improvement in the understanding of an inclusive green economy among the public, private sector, and civil society organizations. Mechanisms are now being established to support the green economy. The promotion of the green economy is incorporated into public policies, and enterprises are actively implementing vision and development policies to foster environmentally friendly and socially inclusive business models.

Q4. What is the strength of a programme like PAGE?

I believe this project has successfully fostered a comprehensive understanding of the green economy in Mongolia. Notably, the public, civil society, and the private sector have managed to solidify their comprehension of the Green Economy. In this context, a significant accomplishment is the integration of green economy content into public policy as a target. The research conducted within the framework of this project continues to serve as a crucial tool in the ongoing process of green economy development in Mongolia.

Furthermore, it is evident that the Youth Decent Work Network has become more empowered and expanded within the scope of this project, making a substantial contribution to enhancing the capacity of civil society organizations to engage in the promotion of green jobs. Additionally, we consider it a noteworthy achievement that, through this project, we have gained extensive knowledge of international good practices and trends.

Within the project framework, a highly effective training session was organized in the most remote province of Mongolia, Zavkhan province. The training aimed to raise awareness of green entrepreneurship among young public and civil society workers from remote provinces and to foster cooperation for a green economy in their communities. [...] Some of the participants visited their communities and proposed several interesting initiatives in the promotion of the green economy, with some currently in the implementation phase. The steady implementation of these initiatives in that province is considered a proud achievement.

Q5. Could you tell us about a key milestone for Mongolia under the PAGE programme?

Within the project framework, a highly effective training session was organized in the most remote province of Mongolia, Zavkhan province. The training aimed to raise awareness of green entrepreneurship among young public and civil society workers from remote provinces and to foster cooperation for a green economy in their communities. Over 130 young people from nine provinces in the furthest western region of Mongolia participated in the training.

Some of the participants visited their communities and proposed several interesting initiatives in the promotion of the green economy, with some currently in the implementation phase. The steady implementation of these initiatives in that province is considered a proud achievement. What made the course particularly interesting and adventurous was the absence of connections or networks in that remote province and the unexpectedly cold weather during the midsummer month. Despite the challenging conditions, the beauty of nature and the young people’s eagerness to learn were factors that made the course not only effective but also captivating and memorable.

This training was organized in a very interesting and innovative way for young people by ILO national coordinator Ms. Bolormaa and PAGE project coordinator Ms. Cristina Martinez.

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