On 3 September 2016, the United States of America and China both agreed formally to join the Paris Agreement on climate change reached in December 2015.
The main aim of the Paris Agreement is to keep the global average temperature rise this century below 2 degrees Celsius and to drive efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
The Paris Agreement opened for signature for one year on 22 April 2016 and will enter into force after 55 countries that account for at least 55% of global emissions have deposited their instruments of ratification. The United States and China are the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases, together accounting for approximately 38% of world emissions. Their move is therefore highly significant, as previously only 24 countries representing 1.08% of emissions had ratified the Agreement.
For an announcement by the Secretariat to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, click here; for the United Nations’ notification of China’s ratification of the Paris Agreement, click here; for the United Nations’ notification of the United States’ acceptance of the Paris Agreement, click here.