BENGALURU, India — After two weeks of discussions in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the 197 nations participating in the U.N.-sponsored talks were unable to reach an agreement by early Saturday on a comprehensive strategy to tackle global droughts, which are intensifying due to climate change.
The biennial conference, recognized as COP 16 and organized by a U.N. body dedicated to combating desertification and drought, sought to forge meaningful global commitments to legally obligate nations to finance early warning systems and enhance resilient infrastructure, particularly in low-income nations like those in Africa, which are experiencing the brunt of the impact.
An alarming report released earlier this week by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification indicated that if current global warming trends continue, nearly five billion people worldwide — including many in Europe, certain areas of the western United States, Brazil, eastern Asia, and Central Africa — will face severe land dryness by the century’s end. This marks an increase from around a quarter of the global population today. The report also highlighted the vulnerability of agriculture, which poses risks for food security across communities worldwide.
This marks the fourth instance this year where U.N. discussions aimed at fostering agreements on biodiversity loss, climate change, and plastic pollution have either failed to achieve consensus or yielded unsatisfactory outcomes, raising concerns for many countries, especially those deemed most susceptible to these issues.
Participants in the Riyadh discussions decided to defer decisions until the next gatherings set for 2026 in Mongolia.
“Parties require additional time to reach a consensus on the best avenues for addressing the imperative issue of drought,” stated Ibrahim Thiaw, the chief of UNCCD, at the conclusion of the discussions in Riyadh.
Thiaw characterized the recent conference as “unlike any other” in the history of this dialogue, which spans three decades. He emphasized that the agenda concerning land and drought has been elevated beyond specialized discussions, becoming a fundamental aspect of global strategies to tackle interconnected challenges such as climate change, biodiversity degradation, food scarcity, population displacement, and overall global security.
However, discussions did not focus on long-term solutions for drought, such as addressing climate change itself.
The host nation, Saudi Arabia, has faced scrutiny in previous negotiations for impeding progress on reducing fossil fuel emissions. As one of the world’s largest oil producers and holders of the second-largest oil reserves, the Gulf nation has been criticized for its role in the climate conversation.
Earlier in the conference, Saudi Arabia, along with several other countries and international financial institutions, pledged $2.15 billion towards initiatives for drought resilience. Additionally, the Arab Coordination Group, comprising ten development banks in the Middle East, committed $10 billion by 2030 to combat land degradation, desertification, and drought impacts. These funds aim to bolster the capacities of 80 of the most vulnerable nations in preparing for increasingly severe drought conditions.
Nevertheless, it was reported that droughts between 2007 and 2017 inflicted a staggering cost of $125 billion globally, according to U.N. estimates.
Erika Gomez, a lead negotiator from Panama, acknowledged that while no resolution was reached on the drought issue, substantial advancements were made in other critical areas.
“We have accomplished several notable milestones, especially regarding civil society involvement and gender issues,” Gomez noted. Jes Weigelt from the European climate think tank TMG Research highlighted the ongoing disagreement among parties until the end regarding whether the proposed instrument for addressing drought should be legally binding.
“I am concerned that UNCCD COP 16 has faced a similar fate as the biodiversity and climate COPs this year. It has not succeeded in delivering results,” he remarked.
