The legally binding portion of the Paris accord does little more than require governments to continue to convene at high-profile global climate summit meetings, make public pledges to tackle global warming at home and submit those plans to be published on a United Nations website.
The ultimate importance of the climate accord will be determined by its members.
"If enough countries start implementing the Paris agreement, historians will see this as a watershed moment," said Erik Solheim, director of the United Nations environment program. "But if we don't implement it, this will just be bringing a bunch of politicians together around a piece of paper."
In total, 60 countries representing 48 percent of global planet-warming emissions have now legally bound themselves to the Paris accord. The deal goes into legal force when at least 55 countries representing 55 percent of global emissions sign on. At Wednesday's ceremony, leaders of countries representing at least an additional 12 percent of global emissions pledged to submit their legal documents by the end of this year. If they follow through, the pact will take effect.
"What once seemed impossible now appears inevitable," said Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, who will step down from his position at the end of the year.
Some of the plans that were already submitted, such as those of the United States, the world's second-largest greenhouse polluter, have hard targets backed up with detailed policy pledges. The Obama administration promised that by 2025, aggressive regulations designed to shut down coal-fired power plants will cut the nation's emissions by 26 percent to 28 percent from 2005 levels.
New York Times
New York Times
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