UN talks in Saudi Arabia fail to reach deal on global drought action

The 12-day COP16 meeting of parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) concluded in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, without reaching an agreement on how to address drought, News.az reports citing Al Jazeera.

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.

News.Az