Paris Agreement on Climate Change closer to being in force

a. 31

b. 32

c. 33

d. 34

 

Paris Agreement on climate change has moved closer to enter into force this year as 31 more countries on 21st Sept joined at a special event hosted by the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in New York.

• Number of countries which joined the Paris Agreement, has now reached 60- 5 more than the threshold of 55 nations required for bringing the agreement into force.
• Paris Agreement will enter into force 30 days after 55 countries, representing 55% of the global emissions, deposit their instruments of ratification, acceptance or accession with the UN Secretary General
• As the 60 countries that joined the agreement so far account for as much as 47.62 percent of the global emission, global deal needs to cover remaining 7.5 percent before it enters into force
• Magic figure is 55 percent and the climate deal is now set to enter into force in 2016
• Adopted by 195 parties to the UNFCCC last December in Paris, the Paris Agreement calls on nations to combat climate change and intensify the actions and investments for a sustainable low carbon future and adapt to the increasing impacts of climate change
• Early entry into force of the Paris Agreement will trigger operational provisions of the agreement and accelerate efforts to limit global temperature rise to below 2 degree C and agree to build climate resilience.
• Paris agreement mandates regular meetings every 5 years, starting in 2018 to review progress and consider how to strengthen the level of ambition as countries recognised the present level of climate actions will not suffice
• The two biggest polluters, China and the United States have joined the agreement early this month and the third biggest polluter in the world accounting for 4.1 percent of the global emission, will ratify it next year.
• Countries that deposited their instruments of ratification at NY included Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bangladesh, Belarus, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Dominica, Ghana, Guinea, Honduras, Iceland, Kiribati, Madagascar, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Senegal, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Thailand, Tonga, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, and Vanuatu.