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Mongolia wanted to see “a shift from talk to action” at COP17. The results were mixed.
The 17th Conference of the Parties to the U.N Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP17) was convened in Ulaanbaatar from August 17-28, bringing together 196 country representatives plus the European Union to negotiate action-based measures on several climate challenges facing the world today. This year’s COP17 included segments on finance, water, land and people, and food systems. Parties agreed on a new initiative that includes $1.3 billion in financing, but failed to approve a new financial mechanism to combat drought.
On August 17, the opening ceremony was attended by Mongolian President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa, U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed, Executive Secretary of the UNCCD Dr. Yasmin Fouad, Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture (and president of UNCCD COP16) Dr. Osama Ibrahim Fakiha, and Mongolia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Batmunkh Battsetseg. The global climate gathering also included a visit by South Korea’s former president, Moon Jae-in, and business leaders from Rio Tinto, Trade Development, Oyu Tolgoi, Asian Development Bank, Global Green Growth Institute, and more.
