Paris agreement on climate change passes key threshold of 55 nations

UNITED NATIONS: Thirty-one countries formally joined the Paris climate change pact on Wednesday, bringing the total number of countries ratifying the treaty to 60

UNITED NATIONS: Thirty-one countries formally joined the Paris climate change pact on Wednesday, bringing the total number of countries ratifying the treaty to 60 and raising hopes that it will enter into effect by the end of the year. The number is higher than the 55-country threshold needed for the treaty to enter into force. But because together those countries account for just under 48% of total global emissions short of the 55% threshold the agreement isn’t expected to take effect until later this year. “I am convinced that the Paris Agreement will enter into force before the end of 2016,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said at an event on the sidelines of the high-level UN General Assembly gathering.

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