Consensus, cooperation, mutual understanding essential to fight against climate change: Mongolian president

ULAN BATOR, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) — National consensus, unified policies, and mutual understanding are vital for achieving meaningful results in the fight against climate change, said Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh on Thursday.
Khurelsukh made the remarks during a high-level multi-stakeholder discussion in Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia, ahead of the upcoming conferences for the three Rio conventions: the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (UN CBD COP 16) from Oct. 21 to Nov. 1, in Cali, Colombia; the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP29) from Nov. 11 to Nov. 22, in Baku, Azerbaijan; and the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP16) from Dec. 2 to Dec. 13, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“The three pillars of the environment — combating climate change, land degradation, and reducing biodiversity loss — are interconnected and cannot be considered separately. To achieve real results, we must strengthen national consensus and unify policies, involving all sectors of society, including the government, private sector, and civil society,” Khurelsukh said.
He highlighted that Mongolia is actively implementing three interrelated national initiatives, such as the “Billion Trees” campaign, to meet international obligations and contribute to the sustainable development goals, particularly in combating climate change, land degradation, and biodiversity loss.
In October 2021, Mongolia launched the nationwide “Billion Trees” tree-planting campaign, following Khurelsukh’s announcement at the United Nations General Assembly. The campaign aims to plant at least 1 billion trees by 2030 to combat desertification.
Since the campaign’s inception, Mongolia has planted a total of 84 million trees across the country, according to the presidential press office.
Desertification is a significant challenge in Mongolia, affecting approximately 77 percent of the country’s total territory, as reported by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. Currently, forests cover less than 8 percent of Mongolia’s 1,564,116 square kilometers of land.
Mongolia is expected to host the COP17 of the UNCCD in its capital in 2026. ■