Paris Agreement on climate change will enter into force next month

The Paris Agreement on climate change crossed "the second and final threshold" on Wednesday and will enter into force next month.

The announcement was made by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, after sufficient countries ratified the agreement, representing 55 per cent of global carbon emissions.

Mr. Ban described the momentum for the Paris Agreement to enter into force this year as "remarkable".

Signed at a global conference last December by more than 190 countries, it required 55 Member States, representing 55 per cent of emissions to officially ratify, and present their own national plans for limiting temperature rises to less than two degrees Celsius.

The UN chief said "strong international support" was "testament to the urgency for action" to fight climate change.

He said he had "worked ceaselessly" to bring countries together over the past decade and visited numerous communities across the world, impacted by extreme weather.

He had seen how climate impacts are already "devastating lives livelihoods and prospects for a better future," but congratulated all the signatories of the agreement and encouraged more of them to ratify, before the COP22 climate change conference in Marrakesh, Morocco, begins on7 November.

SOURCE: Matthew Wells, United Nations.