Diplomatic Gridlock: France Warns US Opposition Threatens Global Soil Protection Efforts at COP17

As international delegates gather in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, for the second and final week of the UN conference on desertification (COP17), the mood has shifted from cautious optimism to urgent concern. With approximately 40 percent of the Earth’s land surface already degraded, threatening food security and water supplies globally, officials are warning that the window for meaningful action is narrowing—and that major geopolitical disputes are hindering progress.

Barbara Pompili, France’s environment ambassador and a former ecological transition minister, has issued a stark warning regarding the state of the negotiations. Speaking from the summit, Pompili pointed to the United States as a primary source of friction, accusing Washington of adopting obstructionist tactics that threaten to derail the conference’s objectives.

The Conflict Over “Integrated Action”

A central point of contention at COP17 is whether land degradation should be addressed as an isolated issue or integrated into the broader global strategies for climate change, biodiversity loss, and water scarcity.

Pompili and the French delegation advocate for a holistic approach, arguing that protecting soil is inseparable from safeguarding the economy, food systems, and energy security. “We have seen the damage that climate change and biodiversity loss can do to soils,” Pompili noted in an interview. “Degraded soil becomes less fertile, retains less water, and produces less food. It is a crisis that affects every country in the world, including traditionally temperate nations like France.”

However, the United States has consistently opposed these efforts to link the three UN conventions—climate, biodiversity, and desertification. Furthermore, the US has reportedly challenged discussions surrounding gender parity and the involvement of indigenous peoples in the decision-making process.

A Strategic Risk for Washington

The COP17 negotiations operate on a consensus basis, a mechanism that leaves the summit vulnerable to stalling tactics. Pompili noted that while the US is the most prominent voice in the current deadlock, other nations, including Russia, are also hindering the scientific processes essential to the conference.

Despite the tensions, Pompili suggested that the US cannot afford to remain a spoiler indefinitely. “The US also faces desertification and the visible consequences of soil degradation,” she said. “It has a strategic interest in not being the country that, in the end, has blocked everything.” She emphasized that France is urging Washington to adopt a more constructive stance, reminding delegates that the issues on the table are fundamentally matters of national sovereignty—droughts, failed harvests, and damaged infrastructure do not respect national borders.

Searching for Concrete Outcomes

As the summit enters its final, decisive days, the French delegation is pushing for a clear, actionable roadmap for post-2030 operations. Key priorities for France include:

• A Drought Framework: Developing a more robust, clearer international mechanism to manage droughts, which are increasingly devastating both developing and developed nations.
• Strategic Planning: Solidifying the convention’s roadmap for the coming decade.
• Private Sector Engagement: Expanding initiatives like “Business for Land,” which helps corporations implement sustainable land management policies across their supply chains.

The stakes, according to UN leadership, could not be higher. As UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed recently noted, the question is not whether the world can afford to implement these protective policies, but whether it can afford not to.

“If we act together and give ourselves the means to do it, we can succeed,” Pompili concluded. “Moving away from separate, siloed policies is the only way to create coherent, sustainable economic development. We have no choice but to reach an agreement.”

The current impasse serves as a reminder of the difficult reality facing global environmental governance: even as the physical ground beneath our feet becomes less productive, the political ground remains just as contested. As the US risks blocking everything at the summit, the international community watches to see if compromise can be reached before the final gavel falls.