While the Paris Climate accords are not legally binding and there is no measure of enforcement, peer pressure has pushed countries to ratify the deal [Xinhua]
The European Parliament in Strasbourg, France on Tuesday ratified the Paris Agreement on climate control, paving the way for the 28-nation European Union to do the same later this week.
World powers such as the US and China ratified the deal last month.
China and the US are the world’s top two producers of man-made carbon emissions, accounting for 38 per cent of the world’s total emissions.
India ratified the agreement just last week.
The landmark agreement reached last year in the French capital will go into effect if ratified by at least 55 countries representing 55 per cent of the world’s man-made emissions.
This threshold has now been crossed with the European Parliament’s ratification. The EU’s combined emissions account for some 12 per cent of the global total.
EU President Jean-Claude Juncker said he believed today’s ratification turns climate ambition into climate action.
“The Paris Agreement is the first of its kind and it would not have been possible were it not for the European Union. Today we continued to show leadership and prove that, together, the European Union can deliver,” he said.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon lauded the ratification today saying he was honored to witness such a “historic moment”.
“We have seen extraordinary action from all corners of the globe to bring this agreement to life this year.
COP21
The Paris agreement on climate change was adopted with no objection by the 196 Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) during the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) hosted by France in December last year.
The Paris pact, which sets a target of limiting global warming by 2100 to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius by curbing greenhouse gas emissions, will not be a fully legally binding treaty.
The final Paris accord has agreed that rich nations need to maintain a $100 billion a year funding pledge beyond 2020, and use that figure as a “floor” for further support agreed by 2025.
The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies
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