Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamal Thapa left for NY on Tuesday to participate in the High-level Signature Ceremony of the Paris Agreement being convened by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 22 April at the UN Headquarters in NY. Over 60 heads of state and government will attend the ceremony, including French President François Hollande, demonstrating the continued high level of engagement by world leaders to accept and implement the Paris Agreement.
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While 195 nations sealed the world’s first global climate deal in December, the agreement must still be signed and ratified before it can take effect.
The Paris Agreement enters into force when at least 55 nations accounting for at least 55 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions have ratified it. Scientists say that the measures in the document might not be enough to keep temperatures below the 2 degrees Celsius limit that, if breached, could cause huge damage across the world.
“In the aftermath of the Paris Agreement, many people, quite rightly, felt we plucked victory from the jaws of defeat”, says Mark Kenber, CEO, The Climate Group. More will be needed in the coming months and years, but we have seen a very positive first couple of months after the Paris Agreement was finalized.
In the United Kingdom, some steps have also been taken to consider implications of the Global Climate Change Agreement on domestic policy.
USA president Obama and China’s President Xi have already announced their participation at the event, which officially opens a signing period that ends on April 21, 2017 and will accelerate implementation of the accord on a global scale.
Hart said last lear was a great year on climate change front and the climate deal establishes a new transparency system which will ensure much greater accountability and help build trust and confidence among countries. Particularly for the business community, said the official, it represents “a new sign, a new signal of global interest, global movement, global intent” to address greenhouse gas emissions.
“If the United States of America is not playing a constructive role here, we will nearly certainly not reach the goals, because it’s such a huge economy”, he said, adding that it was “crucial that there is non-denier on climate (change) as the American president”.
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The environment minister, who led India at the Paris climate summit, said that India was leading by example on mitigation and adaptation, citing the target of generating 175 gigawatts of renewable power by 2022. “This is another example of American leadership; that there will be a substantial number of countries, including some with large economies, joining the USA in making a serious global commitment to fighting climate change and to fighting carbon pollution”, Earnest said.
