Don't Mention Climate Change?

Desertification is on the march! Ignoring Antarctica (for obvious reasons), drylands now account for 40% of the Earth's entire land surface. The increasing drylands reduces agricultural productivity, markedly damaging a country's gross domestic product (its wealth). This is especially happening in Africa and Asia. A UN Science Policy Interface conference is considering this challenge. This conference is being hosted by Saudi Arabia, a famously arid country. Bizarrely, the hosts have appeared reluctant to mention global heating and climate change (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/dec/09/drylands-now-make-up-40-of-land-on-earth-excluding-antarctica-study-says). This reticence might possibly be related to Saudi's massive fossil fuel production? Desertification is encouraged by climate change. Increased rainfall, in a new area, doesn't rapidly convert former desert into prime agricultural land. When a drought ends, in formerly productive areas, that land doesn't return to its former condition, when re-watered. The result is a largely permanent increase in drylands. Oil and gas 'greenhouse gas' emissions drive desertification. This needs to be admitted.