COP22 President Praises China and USA’s Ratification of Paris Agreement

Rabat – President of the 22nd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 22) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Salaheddine Mezouar, hailed the ratification Saturday by China and the United States of the Paris Agreement, on the sidelines of G20 Summit, which is being held in Hangzhou (China).

“This is an important step towards the entry into force of the Paris Agreement,” said Mezouar, noting that “this process must continue and be intensified.”

The United States and China have formally ratified the Paris Agreement to curb climate change in a joint announcement Saturday.

The joint declaration, made by US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping in what is likely their final meeting before a new president enters the White House early next year, is a major stride toward the global accord being put in force by the end of the year.

The Paris Accord, agreed to in December, is the world’s first comprehensive climate agreement which commits countries to cut emissions enough to keep the global average rise in temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrial levels.

Though the international climate deal was sealed in Paris last December, it still needs to be signed and delivered by at least 55 countries representing at least 55 percent of global emissions to achieve a legal status called “entry into force.”

Until Saturday, only 23 had done so among the 175 signatories, including France and a number of island states threatened by rising sea levels but only contribute tiny amounts to global carbon emissions.

China and the USA alone are responsible to almost 40 per cent of total emissions worldwide.

The ratification by the USA and China of the Agreement comes a few weeks prior to COP22 Conference, to be held in the city of Marrakech (7-18 November).