Today at a special event organised by the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, 31 governments joined the Paris Climate Change Agreement. This brings the total number of countries who have officially joined the agreement to 60, covering 47.76% of global GHG emissions. For the treaty to enter into force, at least 55 countries must ratify the treaty covering at least 55 per cent of the global GHG emissions.
Attending the ceremony, Mary Robinson welcomed the progress: “Today the international community crept closer to cementing the Paris Agreement in international law by passing one of the thresholds for its entry into force.”
“The fact that small island states and least developed countries have been amongst the earliest to ratify the Agreement is reflective of the climate change impacts they are experiencing and their sense of urgency. The most vulnerable countries have shown they are ready to demonstrate their leadership and commitment to implementing the Paris Agreement.”
“While important progress has been made, we need the remaining countries, particularly the large emitters, to accelerate their ratification process in order to reach the second threshold of 55% of global emissions before the end of this year and ideally by COP22. The sooner all countries start to work together to implement their commitments the greater the chance of reaching the temperature goals set in Paris which is a prerequisite for climate justice.”
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