Saudi-hosted UN talks fail to produce deal to tackle global drought 

The 12-day meeting of parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), known as COP16, has ended in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh without an agreement on responding to drought.

The talks follow a stream of failed talks on climate change issues, including biodiversity talks in Colombia and plastics pollution talks in South Korea, as well as a climate finance deal that disappointed developing countries at COP29 in Azerbaijan.

The biennial talks have attempted to create strong global mandates on climate change, requiring nations to fund early warning systems and build resilient infrastructure in poorer countries, particularly in Africa.

UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw said on Saturday that “parties need more time to agree on the best way forward”.

A news release stated that 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 complete at COP17 in Mongolia in 2026”.

Droughts “fuelled by human destruction of the environment” cost the world more than $300bn each year, the UN said in a report published on December 3, the second day of the talks in Riyadh.

Droughts are projected to affect 75 percent of the world’s population by 2050, the report said.

A delegate at COP16 from a country in Africa, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the AFP news agency that African countries had hoped the talks would produce a binding protocol on drought.

That would ensure “every government will be held responsible” for devising stronger preparation and response plans, the delegate said.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen Africa so united, with a strong united front, with respect to the drought protocol.”

Two other anonymous COP16 participants told the agency that developed countries did not want a binding protocol and instead were vying for a “framework”, which African countries deemed inadequate.

Indigenous groups were also pushing for a binding protocol, according to Praveena Sridhar, chief technical officer for Save Soil, a global campaign backed by UN agencies.

Meanwhile, host Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s largest oil producers, has been criticised in the past for stalling progress on curbing emissions from fossil fuels at other negotiations.

At the talks on Saturday, Saudi Environment Minister Abdulrahman al-Fadley said the kingdom has launched several initiatives to address desertification, a major issue for the country.

Saudi Arabia is dedicated “to working with all parties to preserve ecosystems, enhance international cooperation to combat desertification and land degradation, and address drought”, he said.

In advance of the Riyadh talks, the UNCCD said 1.5 billion hectares (3.7 billion acres) of land must be restored by the end of the decade and that at least $2.6 trillion in global investments was needed.