The U.S. and China Officially Join the Paris Agreement

Both the U.S. and China have now both officially joined up to the Paris Agreement that was adopted by consensus last December. A ceremony marks the occasion as both President Obama and President Xi Jinping deliver documents to UN Secretary, General Ban Ki-Moon declaring their involvement in the agreement. Xi called the agreement a milestone that marked the emergence of a global government system for climate change, while Obama states that the agreement will be a turning point for our planet.

There is now a total of 180 countries included in the Paris Agreement, with 26 having ratified the agreement. But there need to be 55 countries responsible for at least 55 percent of global warming emissions to ratify the agreement before it can officially take effect.  Prior to the U.S. and China ratifying the agreement the other 24 countries only accounted for just over 1 percent of global emissions, but now, with these two on board that figure has jumped to nearly 40 percent.

China is responsible for the most greenhouse gas emissions globally, with the United States coming in at number two. So, with these two ratifying the agreement the world is one giant leap closer to solving or at least easing its pollution problems.  But, experts warn that we are still in danger and still need to act quickly. With Russia accounting for over 7 percent of global warming emissions and India at just over 4 percent, these two would ratify would nearly be enough to achieve the target needed to set the Paris Agreement in effect officially. So, fingers crossed that the U.S. and China will spur others on to ratify the agreement, and we will finally get it up and run, officially.

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