Last Wednesday, the number of countries that ratified the Paris climate agreement, prepared during the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), doubled .
For the agreement to enter into force, it is required that the signatory countries be responsible for at least 55 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. So far, 60 countries have signed it, accounting for 48% of their emissions. The new 31 countries that ratified the Paris Agreement on Wednesday included Argentina, Belarus, Brazil, Mexico, the UAE (United Arab Emirates), Singapore, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Ukraine.
The two world leaders in greenhouse gas emissions, China and the US, which account for about 40%, signed an agreement earlier this month. Russia, whose area of responsibility includes 7.5% of emissions, has not yet given its formal consent, although there is an official translation of the agreement into Russian.
The countries that sign the pact agree to keep the global average temperature rise "well below" 2°C and "make efforts" to limit the rise to 1.5°C.
See also anekdotig:
- Newsletter: " Outcomes of the UN Conference (COP21) in Paris on Climate Change " (December 18, 2015)
- Newsletter: " Marches around the world in support of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) " (November 30, 2015)
- Newsletter: " Buddhist World Leaders Release Message to Paris United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC) " (October 30, 2015)
- Newsletter: " Europe's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Call for Further Cuts " (October 26, 2015)
- Article: " Global warming on Earth: statistics and results of 2014 ".