On September 21, 2016, during the high-level ceremony at the UN Headquarters, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Vladimir Makei, delivered to the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, instrument of acceptance by the Republic of Belarus of the Paris Climate Agreement.
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Amid political opposition from the rival Republican Party, Obama has had to rely on executive actions including regulating power plants to cut emissions in the United States.
Those who ratified on Wednesday included Mexico, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco, which is hosting the next round of climate talks in November. With the joining of 31 nations to the instrument, which represent 60 those who have done it, representing 47 percent of emissions of greenhouse gases.
The pact – which was signed in NY on 22 April by 175 countries at the largest, single-day signing ceremony in history – will enter into force 30 days after at least 55 countries, accounting for 55 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, deposit their instruments of ratification.
According to the United Nations, 30 countries are expected to formally join the Paris agreement during Wednesday’s event at the UN.
“Today we also heard commitments from many other countries to join the agreement this year”.
Australia, one of the largest per capita emitters, will make its “best endeavours to ratify” in 2016, said the country’s prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull. It lays out commitments to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and keep average global temperatures from rising by 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius).
“Climate change is already risky, it has already exceeded the capacity of many countries to adapt to it, we have already lost lives, we are losing species and we have lost lands and buildings”, said Gutierrez, speaking on behalf of a troika of climate-vulnerable nations including Ethiopia and the Philippines.
And Mohamed Adow, Christian Aid’s senior climate change adviser, said: “A leading group of governments including the United Kingdom is rapidly bringing the Paris Agreement into life”. If the European Union ratifies the agreement, the climate conference that opens in Marrakesh, Morocco, on 7 November, could feature the first meeting of the parties to the Paris Agreement, including the European Union and Slovakia. “Human-caused climate change is not a belief, a hoax, or a conspiracy”, they wrote. “People are dying of heat, or being displaced”, urging more countries to join the fight against climate change. That is why we are now starting the process of ratifying the landmark climate deal signed in Paris. Trump then declared that the concepts of global warming and climate change are made up by the Chinese government in an effort to take over good, old-fashion American industry. Whether with India, Korea, Japan or Canada, President Obama and other officials, namely Secretary of State John Kerry, repeatedly have nudged other world leaders to official embrace the climate agreement.
The letter was released on the same day that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported yet another record warm month.
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“The next step – bringing that agreement quickly into force – must follow”, he added. This rapid pace reflects a spirit of cooperation rarely seen on a global scale. “Then we again pick up our shovels and continue the hard work of creating a safer and more prosperous planet”.
