UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday announced that the Paris Agreement on climate change will cross the second and final threshold needed for entry into force, and will enter into force on Nov. 4, 2016.
"Global momentum for the Paris Agreement to enter into force in 2016 has been remarkable," Ban said in a statement issued here by his spokesman. "What once seemed unthinkable is now unstoppable."
The Paris deal, adopted in December 2015, has been so far ratified by 72 countries accounting for more than 56 percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions, said the website of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) earlier Wednesday.
"Strong international support for the Paris Agreement entering into force is testament to the urgency for action, and reflects the consensus of governments that robust global cooperation is essential to meet the climate challenge," the secretary-general said.
"Over the past decade, I have worked ceaselessly to bring countries together to accelerate the global response to climate change," he said. "I have visited communities on the climate frontlines, from the Arctic to the Amazon, and I have seen how climate impacts are already devastating lives, livelihoods and prospects for a better future."
The UN chief urged all governments and all sectors of society to implement the Paris Agreement in full and to take urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, strengthen climate resilience, and support the most vulnerable in adapting to inevitable climate impacts.
The Paris Agreement shall 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 percent of the total global greenhouse gas emissions have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with the Depositary.
The secretary-general extended his "warmest congratulations" to all signatories of the Paris Agreement, and encouraged all countries to "accelerate their domestic processes to ratify the Paris Agreement as soon as possible" before the next Conference of the Parties (COP 22) on Nov. 7-18 in Marrakesh, Morocco.
"The secretary-general has been very encouraged by the tremendous positive support from a broad coalition of countries -- from the largest emitters to the small island developing states -- to bring the Paris Agreement to life as soon as possible," Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman, said at a daily news briefing here.
"We will announce the names of those Parties that have deposited their ratification instruments by the end of the day," he said. "The UN recognizes that all Parties that deposit in a single day are considered collectively in meeting the legal threshold."
"The secretary-general expresses his appreciation for all countries that have accelerated their domestic processes to ensure the Paris Agreement comes to life as soon as possible this year," he said.
The much-anticipated Paris Agreement is the third international document on addressing climate change, following the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.
