India yesterday day ratified the Paris Agreement on climate change at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, bringing the treaty's entry into force "tantalizingly" close.
The Agreement, which calls on countries to combat climate change and limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius, will take effect 30 days only after at least 55 countries, responsible for 55 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, deposit their instruments of ratification.
With yesterday's action by India, which accounts for 4.1 per cent of the emissions, the Agreement only needs slightly more than 3 percentage points to reach the "55 per cent" threshold. The "55 countries" requirement had already been met.
In a statement issued by his spokesman, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warmly congratulated India for ratifying and formally joining the Agreement.
“India's leadership builds on the continued strong political momentum from Paris for urgent global action on climate change,” the statement said. “The Secretary-General calls on all Parties to accelerate their domestic procedures in order to join the agreement as soon as possible this year. Action on climate change is crucial for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and creating a more prosperous, equitable and livable future for all people.”
Adopted in Paris by the 195 Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at a conference known as COP21 last December, the Agreement was signed in New York on 22 April this year by 175 countries.
During the UN General Assembly's general debate, which ended 26 September, the number of countries that deposited their instruments of ratification reached 61, crossing one of the two thresholds required to bring it into force. The world's two largest emitters, China and the United States, had already joined the Agreement.
Source: UN News Center