Paris Agreement Open To Signing Today
A record number of countries are set to descend upon New York today to sign the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, today’s signing “signals the next step towards the Agreement coming into force and a critical juncture in a global effort to ensure lasting hopes for secure and peaceful, human development.”
“More carbon in the atmosphere equals more poverty,” said Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). “We cannot deliver sustainable development without tackling climate change, and we cannot tackle climate change without addressing the root causes of poverty, inequality and unsustainable development patterns.”
Today’s signing has been given a smidgen-more significance, as it takes place on Earth Day, with the United Nations Environmental Programme hoping “we can lift our heads and look at this bigger picture with new hope, for today the world is gathering at the UN Headquarters in New York to sign the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.”
“In Paris, the world’s nations agreed that climate change is a threat to planetary well-being,” said Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). “Having over 160 countries sign the Paris Agreement in New York on its opening day is proof positive that the world is committed to a global response.”
“More than this, the signed Paris Agreement is evidence of an epochal shift in global mentality toward how we interact with our environment.”
Earlier this month it was announced that more than 130 countries are set to sign the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, with over 60 world leaders and other luminaries expected to be present today. Successfully agreed upon in the last moments of the COP21 meeting in Paris, France, last December, the “Paris Agreement will enter into force on the 30th day after the date on which at least 55 Parties to the Convention accounting in total for at least an estimated 55% of total global greenhouse gas emissions have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with the Depositary.”
“The challenges we face from climate change are still very real, and no document can fix our problems for us,” Achim Steiner continued, in a statement released this morning. “What the Paris Agreement can do is inspire action, safe in the knowledge that we do not act alone, but with a global unity of purpose. It is heartening to see countries come together to improve the lives of all peoples through the safeguarding of our planet.”
“Signing the Paris Agreement is but a step on a long journey to make our world a better place. A large step, yes, but many more remain to be taken in our efforts to address the risks of climate change, reduce pollution and increase access to clean energy. By continuing to cooperate, as the world did in Paris, we can achieve our goals sooner than we expect. UNEP, as part of the United Nations family, is committed to supporting nations and citizens in making this transition towards a greener future.”
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