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China, US ratify Paris climate change pact
HANGZHOU: China and the United States ratified the Paris deal to cut climate-warming emissions on Saturday, on the eve of the 11th G20 Summit, a meeting of the world’s
HANGZHOU: China and the United States ratified the Paris deal to cut climate-warming emissions on Saturday, on the eve of the 11th G20 Summit, a meeting of the world’s leading heads of states.
The move by the world’s two biggest polluters is a major step forward for the 180-nation accord, which sets ambitious goals for capping global warming and funnelling trillions of dollars to poor countries facing climate catastrophe.
The National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s Parliament, ratified the document at meeting in Beijing on Saturday.
“Ratifying the agreement accords with China’s policy of actively dealing with climate change,” official news agency Xinhua quoted the proposal a saying, adding that addressing climate change would help the country realise sustainable development.
The ratification will “further advance China’s green, low-carbon development and safeguard environmental security,” it said.
The Xinhua report added that China had signed the Paris Agreement at UN Headquarters in New York on April 22.
“Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli, the special envoy of President Xi Jinping, signed the document and announced that China aimed to finalise domestic legal procedures to ratify the pact before the G20 Summit in Hangzhou,” the report said.
“Just as I believe the Paris agreement will ultimately prove to be a turning point for our planet, I believe that history will judge today’s efforts as pivotal,” US President Obama said here after he and Chinese President Xi Jinping handed their respective ratified documents to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Ban said he will hold a highlevel event in New York to which he will invite country leaders to formally ratify the Paris climate change agreement. He particularly lauded Obama for his leadership on climate change
“We have a saying in America that you need to put your money where your mouth is. And when it comes to combating climate change, that’s what we’re doing. Both the United States and China, we’re leading by example,” Obama said.
Xi said the joint action “speaks to the shared ambition and resolve of China and the United States in addressing global issues.”
China and the United States, jointly responsible for about 38% of global emissions.
Until Beijing and Washington joined the club, 24 nations emitting just over 1% of global gases had officially acceded to the deal to cap global warming at two degrees Celsius over pre-Industrial Revolution levels.
China has committed to reduce its carbon emissions per unit of gross domestic product by 60-65% by 2030 from 2005 levels, increase non-fossil fuel sources in primary energy consumption to about 20%, and peak its carbon emissions by 2030.
China and India had issued a joint statement during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the country in May 2015, signaling a convergence of views on climate change and pressing developed countries to take the lead in the problem.
“The two sides urged the developed countries to raise their pre-2020 emission reduction targets and honour their commitment to provide $100 billion per year by 2020 to developing countries,” the statement had said.
