Highlights for Monday, 9 September 2019
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes participants to the UNCCD COP 14
On Monday morning, the opening ceremony of the two-day High-Level Segment of 14th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 14) took place with addresses by UN leaders and Heads of State, and special statements by ministers representing regional groups.Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, India, and COP 14 President, pledged India’s commitment to use its COP Presidency to reverse the negative contribution of human activities to land degradation. Ibrahim Thiaw, UNCCD Executive Secretary, reminded delegates of the common goal of ensuring a safe, prosperous and equitable society for every child born today. Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General, gave special recognition to young people and called for solutions that “let people thrive, not just survive.”India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, reaffirmed his commitment to the goals of the Rio Conventions and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and announced his government’s support for enhanced South-South Cooperation and a “Global Water Action Agenda,” to maximize synergies through holistic land and water management. Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, stressed that science has “definitively detailed” the extent of the existential threat facing humanity, but "our collective response has not lived up to the task."In the afternoon, three ministerial roundtables convened, addressing:
land, climate and renewable energy;
rural and urban communities – “failing or flourishing together”; and
fostering a global movement for ecosystem restoration.
In parallel with the roundtable sessions, contact groups continued negotiations on draft decision texts, addressing matters relating to the budget, as well as the policy advocacy frameworks.Other events of the day included a dialogue with UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner addressing linkages between climate change and human development, a breakfast meeting on the Great Green Wall for the Sahel initiative, and a high-level luncheon on the Climate Action Summit.For more details on the day’s negotiations and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB).
IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB meeting coverage, is providing daily web coverage and daily reports from UNCCD COP 14. In addition, IISD Reporting Services will publish a summary and analyrs report from this session on Monday, 16 September 2019.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Ángeles Estrada
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Opening Ceremony of the High-Level Segment
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at the venue accompanied by Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, India (left) and UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw.
Narendra Modi, Prime Minister, India
COP 14 President, Prakash Javadekar
UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed
Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary, UNCCD; Babul Supriyo, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, India; Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; and Narendra Modi, Prime Minister, India
Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary, UNCCD; Babul Supriyo; Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, India; Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Narendra Modi, Prime Minister, India, COP 14 President; Prakash Javadekar, Ministry of Environment, India, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed; and Chandra Kishore Mishra, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, India
Participants during the High-Level Segment
Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary, UNCCD
COP 14 President, Prakash Javadekar, Ministry of Environment, India, and UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed
Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Narendra Modi, Prime Minister, India
Participants during the High-Level Segment
Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed
Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, India
Baaba Mal, Senegal, performing at the opening ceremony
High-Level Breakfast on the Great Green Wall for the Sahel
Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary, UNCCD
UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed; Babul Supriyo, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, India, and Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary, UNCCD
Baaba Mal, Senegal
Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chairperson, Global Environment Facility (GEF)
UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, and Babul Supriyo, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, India
Ricky Kej, India
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Chad
Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko, African Union Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture
View of the high-level breakfast on the Great Green Wall for the Sahel
Achim Steiner, Administrator, UN Development Programme (UNDP)
Jigmet Takpa, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, India
Yannick Glemarec, Executive Director, Green Climate Fund
Inger Andersen, Executive Director, UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
Land, Climate and Renewable Energy
View of the room during the roundtable
Achim Steiner, Administrator, UNDP; Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; and Guðmundur Ingi Guðbrandsson, Deputy Minister for the Environment and Natural Resources, Iceland
Rural and Urban Communities – “Failing or Flourishing Together”
View of the room during the roundtable discussion
Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chairperson, GEF; Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko, African Union Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture; and Almoustapha Garba, Minister of Environment, Urban Safety and Sustainable Development, Niger
Fostering a Global Movement for Ecosystem Restoration
Inger Andersen, Executive Director, UNEP (middle)
Participants at the roundtable discussion
High-Level Luncheon on the Climate Action Summit
Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary, UNCCD; UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed; and COP 14 President, Prakash Javadekar, Ministry of Environment, India
Joint Press Conference
COP 14 President, Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, India
Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary, UNCCD, and UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed
Media during press conference
Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary, UNCCD, and UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed
A participant posing a question during the press conference
Wagaki Wischnewski, UNCCD Secretariat
Reception
