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Signing by John Kerry in United Nations General Assembly Hall for the United States
The Paris Agreement is open for signature by States and regional economic
integration organizations that are Parties to the UNFCCC (the Convention) from 22
April 2016 to 21 April 2017 at the UN Headquarters in New York. [55]
The agreement stated that it would enter into force (and thus become fully
effective) only if 55 countries that produce at least 55% of the world's greenhouse
gas emissions(according to a list produced in 2015)[56] ratify, accept, approve or
accede to the agreement.[57][58] On 1 April 2016, the United States and China, which
together represent almost 40% of global emissions, issued a joint statement
confirming that both countries would sign the Paris Climate Agreement. [59][60] 175
Parties (174 states and the European Union) signed the treaty on the first date it
was open for signature.[5][61] On the same day, more than 20 countries issued a
statement of their intent to join as soon as possible with a view to joining in 2016.
With ratification by the European Union, the Agreement obtained enough parties to
enter into effect as of 4 November 2016.
European Union and its member states[edit]
Both the EU and its member states are individually responsible for ratifying the Paris
Agreement. A strong preference was reported that the EU and its 28 member states
deposit their instruments of ratification at the same time to ensure that neither the
EU nor its member states engage themselves to fulfilling obligations that strictly
belong to the other,[62] and there were fears that disagreement over each individual
member state's share of the EU-wide reduction target, as well as Britain's vote to
leave the EU might delay the Paris pact.[63] However, the European Parliament
approved ratification of the Paris Agreement on 4 October 2016, [6] and the EU
deposited its instruments of ratification on 5 October 2016, along with several
individual EU member states.[63]
Parties and signatories[edit]
As of November 2016, 192 states and the European Union have signed the
Agreement. 115 of those parties have ratified or acceded to the Agreement, most
notably China, the United States and India, the countries with three of the
largest greenhouse gas emissions of the signatories' total (about 42% together). [1][64]
[65]
Non-signatories
The following UNFCCC member states are entitled to sign the Paris Agreement but
have not done so.
Nicaragua (0 Uzbekistan (0
.03%) .54%)
Critical reception[edit]
UNEP[edit]
According to UNEP the emission cut targets in November 2016 will result in
temperature rise by 3 C above pre-industrial levels, far above the 2 C of the Paris
climate agreement.[72]
Perfectible accord[edit]
Al Gore stated that "no agreement is perfect, and this one must be strengthened
over time, but groups across every sector of society will now begin to reduce
dangerous carbon pollution through the framework of this agreement." [73]
According to a study published in Nature in June 2016, current country pledges are
too low to lead to a temperature rise below the Paris Agreement temperature limit
of "well below 2 C".[74][75]
Lack of binding enforcement mechanism[edit]
Although the agreement was lauded by many, including French President Francois
Hollande and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, [58] criticism has also surfaced.[citation
needed]
For example, James Hansen, a former NASA scientist and a climate change
expert, voiced anger that most of the agreement consists of "promises" or aims and
not firm commitments.[76]
Institutional asset owners associations and think-tanks such as the World Pensions
Council (WPC) have also observed that the stated objectives of the Paris Agreement
are implicitly "predicated upon an assumption that member states of the United
Nations, including high polluters such as China, the US, India, Brazil, Canada,
Russia, Indonesia and Australia, which generate more than half the worlds
greenhouse gas emissions, will somehow drive down their carbon pollution
voluntarily and assiduously without any binding enforcement mechanism to
measure and control CO2 emissions at any level from factory to state, and without
any specific penalty gradation or fiscal pressure (for example a carbon tax) to
discourage bad behaviour. A shining example of what Roman lawyers called circular
logic: an agreement (or argument) presupposing in advance what it wants to
achieve."[77]