E.U. ratifies pact, paving way for it to take effect

Source: By The Associated Press • Posted: Wednesday, October 5, 2016

The Paris climate agreement likely will take effect this week now that European Union lawmakers have endorsed the deal.

European lawmakers this morning voted for the 28-member bloc to ratify the agreement to limit warming.

The agreement cannot enter force until 55 countries, accounting for at least 55 percent of global emissions, adopt it. Before today, 62 countries had endorsed the deal, but they accounted for 52 percent of emissions (ClimateWire, Oct. 3).

The European Union’s ratification takes it over the 55 percent threshold. The legal handover to the United Nations of a document formally doing that is expected to happen by Friday.

The agreement requires governments to reduce emissions in an effort to limit the global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius.

“With the action taken by the E.U. Parliament, I am confident that we will be able to cross the 55 percent threshold very soon, in a matter of days,” U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said.