Paris Agreement: 175 countries have signed the text
Environment — di Andrea Barolini
From today, governments around the world can sign the Paris Agreement: 175 countries did so on the first day available.
Paris Agreement: 175 countries have signed the text
From today, governments around the world can sign the Paris Agreement: 175 countries did so on the first day available.
Four months after the conclusion of the COP 21 in Paris, governments around the world are being called upon to translate their intentions into concrete action — that is, to ratify the Agreement reached at the end of two gruelling weeks of negotiations in the French capital.
The delegations of the 195 countries that took part in the world climate conference can, from today, Friday 22 April, officially sign the text. On the first day alone, 175 nations did so. Symbolically, the same day as Earth Day was chosen: "The World Earth Day takes on an even greater significance following the historic Paris Agreement, reached at the end of COP 21, which we are signing at the United Nations headquarters in New York," commented Environment Minister Gian Luca Galletti.
China and the United States ready to sign
France's Minister of Ecology, Ségolène Royal, had announced that at least 160 countries were ready to formally sign the document. Present at the ceremony were, in particular, two of the most anticipated delegations: that of China, represented by Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli, and that of the United States, led by Secretary of State John Kerry — the two states responsible for the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.
It should be noted, however, that the agreement will remain open for signature until April 2017: some governments may therefore use this lengthy period to "play for time". Furthermore, Eliza Northrop of the World Resources Institute reminded AFP that "final adoption will only come once the text has been approved at national level." In other words, the text will also need to pass through the parliaments of each country before it can be considered binding and truly in force.
"But the Paris Agreement is not a magic wand"
Nevertheless, all the conditions appear to be in place for a large majority of nations to commit in the near future. The objective of French diplomacy is to ensure that the Paris Agreement can be fully operational as early as 2017, or at the latest by 2018. NGOs are also pushing in this direction: Célia Gautier of the Réseau Action Climat explained that "states will need to adopt a rapid energy transition, redirecting their investments," if they want to meet the targets set during COP 21.
As a result, countries such as India, Turkey and Indonesia, which have planned to build dozens upon dozens of coal-fired power plants, will need to fundamentally rethink their choices. If such projects are not halted, "the Paris Agreement will not be enough: it is not a magic wand," Gautier concluded.