The recent announcement by the U.S. and Chinese presidents that their countries will sign the Paris climate change agreement at the April 22 signing ceremony drew praise from U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. “He further welcomes the announcement that both countries commit to taking steps in their respective countries to join the Agreement as early as possible this year, while urging other countries to do so as well so that the Paris Agreement can enter into force as early as possible,” according to a statement issued last week by the secretary general’s office.
U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday announced that they would sign the Paris Agreement the day it opens for signature. The Paris Agreement, adopted in December at the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, is the world’s first universal climate change deal, soliciting contributions from developed and developing nations alike. As the world’s top two carbon emitters, the U.S. and China played a central role in drafting the agreement, which lays out a legal framework under which nations will work to meet voluntary nationally determined climate action goals.
The agreement will come into force once it is signed by 55 percent of UNFCCC members, representing at least 55 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.
