The milestone is within reach in large part because Mr Ban, who sees the climate deal as a centrepiece of his legacy, began a sustained push to win the formal approval of 55 countries representing 55 per cent of global emissions – the threshold needed to put the accord into force.
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Under pressure from UN chief Ban Ki-moon, Asim and representatives of other nations, 31 countries filed their ratification documents during a ceremony on Wednesday morning.
Given this progress, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and secretary of state John Kerry are both confident that the deal will be fully implemented in the coming months, according to The Guardian. “On Wednesday will take us one step closer to bringing the Paris Agreement into force this year”, the United Nations chief stressed. “Each day the planet is on this course, it becomes more unsafe”.
The U.K. helped to negotiate the Paris accords late a year ago when it was a part of the European Union, although the European Union as a whole is yet to ratify the agreement.
Now, the chorus of agreement has grown much stronger.
Russia, India and Japan have agreed to join the pact, but they havent submitted their instruments of ratification.
The Paris Agreement was adopted by 196 parties (195 countries and the European Union) in December at the 21st round of UN-sponsored climate negotiations.
Meanwhile, EU environment ministers will meet September 30 to discuss options for fast-tracking the blocs entry into the agreement. Trump, Gary Johnson tied among military voters Pentagon: No US aircraft flying during Syrian convoy attack Kerry calls for grounding aircraft to salvage Syrian cease-fire MORE said at the Wednesday event. “If we withdraw, or even slow our implementation of the EPA regulations, other countries will take note and their own ambition in tackling climate change will likely decrease”.
Scientists are warning Americans that Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president, is unfit to serve because of his controversial and profoundly mistaken position on climate change. Before yesterday, 29 countries had ratified the agreement.
“The president’s basic strategy on this has been to use every engagement he’s had … to encourage countries to move more quickly”, the officials said, adding that the result shows there is reason to hope the world can solve its climate challenges. Its also rattling scientists.
“A “Parexit” would send a clear signal to the rest of the world: ‘The United States does not care about the global problem of human-caused climate change”.
Most of the signatories are from the United States, with many from leading universities such as Harvard, Cambridge and Columbia. “We can not afford to cross that tipping point”, the letter ends.
The Secretary General thanked Belarus for the leadership and active participation in the global process to combat climate change.
It is of great concern that the Republican nominee for President has advocated USA withdrawal from the Paris Accord.
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“At present, a 1.5 [degree] limit appears to be a very hard to achieve, not impossible but requiring focused efforts by governments and individuals to rapidly reduce utilization of fossil fuels through a combination of technological and lifestyle changes on an unprecedented scale”, Oppenheimer said by email. The letter says it best: The political system also has tipping points.
