Ban Ki-moon urges G20 leaders to ratify Paris Agreement

With Barack Obama and Xi Jinping ratifying the Paris Agreement, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged other leaders to accelerate their countries' ratification process "so we can turn the aspirational Paris into the transforming climate action the world so urgently wants."

Speaking to both local and foreign journalists on Sept. 4 at the Media Center of the Hangzhou G20 summit, the UN Secretary General disclosed that the presidents of the world’s top two carbon emitters ratified the Paris Agreement on Global Climate Change on Sept. 3.

Mark Wilson, chief executive officer of Aviva Group, said, "Climate change represents the mother of all risks to business and society as a whole, and that risk is magnified by the way in which fossil fuel subsidies distort the energy market."

He maintained that at the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference held in France, the Paris Agreement was negotiated for emission reduction, representing a consensus among the 196 parties in attendance.

"A total of 26 parties accounting for 39 percent of global emissions have signed up to the agreement that sets nation-by-nation targets for cutting carbon emissions. The agreement still needs 29 parties representing at least 16 percent more of global emissions to enter into force," Ban also disclosed.

But on the other hand India has said it will not be able to commit itself to the ratification of the Paris Agreement before the end of the 2016 deadline, despite pressure from both U.S. and China, who jointly issued a document ratifying the agreement.
 [china.org.cn]
7/9/16