Saudi-hosted UN talks to tackle global drought fail. drought news
The future global drought regime is now planned to meet at COP17 in Mongolia in 2026.
The 12-day meeting of the parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), known as COP16, has ended without any agreement on responding to drought in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh.
The talks follow a series of failed talks on climate change issues, including biodiversity talks in Colombia and plastic pollution talks in South Korea, as well as a climate finance agreement that disappointed developing countries at COP29 in Azerbaijan .
The biennial talks have attempted to create a stronger global mandate on climate change, requiring nations to fund early warning systems and build resilient infrastructure in poor countries, particularly in Africa.
UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw said on Saturday that “the parties need more time to agree on the best way forward”.
A news release said the parties – 196 countries and the European Union – had “made significant progress in laying the groundwork for a future global drought regime, which they intend to conclude at COP17 in Mongolia in 2026”.
Droughts caused by human destruction of the environment cost the world more than $300 billion each year, the UN said in a report published on December 3, the second day of talks in Riyadh.
The report says that 75 percent of the world’s population is expected to be affected by drought by 2050.
divide between global south and north
A representative of an African country at COP16, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP news agency that African countries hoped the talks would produce a binding protocol on drought.
The representative said this would ensure that “each government will be held accountable” for developing robust preparedness and response plans.
“This is the first time I have seen Africa so united with a strong united front regarding the drought protocol.”
Two other unnamed COP16 participants told the agency that developed countries did not want a binding protocol and were instead competing for a “framework”, which African countries considered inadequate.
Indigenous groups were also pushing for a binding protocol, according to Praveena Sridhar, chief technical officer of Save Soil, a global campaign supported by UN agencies.
Meanwhile, host Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s biggest oil producers, has been criticized in the past for blocking progress on curbing emissions from fossil fuels in other talks.
In talks on Saturday, Saudi Environment Minister Abdulrahman al-Fadle said the kingdom had launched a number of initiatives to address desertification, a major issue for the country.
Saudi Arabia is “dedicated to working with all parties to enhance international cooperation to preserve ecosystems, combat desertification and land degradation, and combat drought,” he said.
Ahead of the Riyadh talks, the UNCCD said 1.5 billion hectares (3.7 billion acres) of land should be restored by the end of the decade and at least $2.6 trillion in global investment is needed.
