Paris Agreement could enter into force next year

The Paris Agreement, a historic global pact to address climate change, could enter into force as early as next year, said outgoing United Nations (UN) climate chief Christiana Figueres on Tuesday.

Figueres told reporters at the seventh Petersberg Climate Dialogue, an informal ministerial meeting taking place here, that as more and more countries showed their intention to quickly ratify the pact reached last year in France, the Paris Agreement was approaching the threshold of starting operation.

"It will be possible for the Paris Agreement to enter into force as early as next year," said Figueres as her last day as the executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

• "We will be three years ahead of schedule. It is again a confirmation of the spirit of collaboration that came out of Paris continues," she said.

A total of 178 parties of UNFCCC have signed the Paris Agreement. However, for the pact to come into effect, ratification documents must be submitted by at least 55 parties representing 55 percent of global carbon emissions.

• Currently, 19 countries have completed this process. China and United States have said they would join the agreement by the end of 2016.

On Tuesday, Germany announced it would also ratify the agreement this year, as did Hungary and France...
 [Xinhua -china.org.cn]
7/7/16