175 countries sign Paris Agreement signalling clear commitment to tackle climate change
Fri 22 April 2016
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Following the historic agreement last December, 175 countries have signed the Paris Agreement on climate change, signalling their intention to ratify its conditions. All the major carbon emitters - including the United States, China and the EU were signatories in New York.
Late last year in Paris around 200 countries agreed a deal to cap global warming at “well below” two degrees above pre-industrial levels, with reference in the text to an aspiration to achieve a lower, long-term 1.5 degree target.
To be effective, the Paris accord must be ratified by at least 55 countries representing 55% of global emissions. The signing ceremony marks an important step toward that goal.
This was by far the largest number of countries to have signed an international agreement on the first day it was open for signature showing that there is clear momentum to take international climate action which the UNFCCC describes as the defining challenge of this generation. Reports suggest that we are within striking distance of the Paris Agreement entering into force this year.
For international agreements like that made in Paris there is typically a three-step process. The ceremony in New York on April 22nd kick-started each of these steps. Signing shows a country's intent to formally join the agreement while they work through their domestic process.
The second step for the Paris Agreement is for countries to formally join. A country is then legally a “party” to the agreement. Fifteen countries formally joined the agreement on April 22nd. China announced that it would formally join the agreement no later than when they host the G20 meeting on September 4-5. An additional 21 countries—including the U.S., Mexico, Indonesia, Norway, Argentina, the Philippines, Chile, and Canada—announced that they would formally join the agreement later this year.
The last step for international agreements is for them to “enter into force”—to become an international legal agreement. The progress so far suggests that the world is easily within reach of meeting the 55 percent threshold to have the agreement enter into force this year.
The progress of the Paris Agreement towards full ratification is a clear signal that governments intend to follow through on the process of decarbonising the global economy.
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