India ratifies historic Paris Climate Agreement

India on 2 October 2016 ratified historic Paris Agreement on climate change, giving a significant push for the deal to enter into force by the end 2016. The agreement is expected to give momentum to implementation of measures at international level to control global warming.

India, the world's fourth largest emitter of greenhouse gases, accounts for 4.1 per cent of the emissions. China and the US is the biggest carbon emitter and are jointly responsible for around 40 per cent of the global carbon emissions.

COP 21 under UNFCCC adopted Paris Agreement on Climate Change

With India's move, a total of 62 countries accounting for almost 52 per cent of emissions, have ratified the accord. The pact will come into force after it has been ratified by at least 55 countries which account for 55 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Permanent Representative to the United Nations Syed Akbaruddin handed over the Instrument of Ratification signed by President Pranab Mukherjee, to Santiago Villalpando, the Head of the Treaties Division at the UN in a special ceremony in New York.

The ceremony was attended by top UN officials and senior diplomats to commemorate the 147th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi’s birth anniversary is observed as an International Day of Non-violence.

Union Cabinet approves ratification of Paris Agreement

In total, the 62 countries that have ratified the Paris Agreement account for about 51.89 per cent of the global gas emissions. This means for adoption, the agreement needs slightly more than 3 percent to reach the 55 per cent threshold. UN says that at least 14 other countries that together contribute about 12 per cent of global emissions have committed to ratify the pact before end of 2016.

Earlier in September 2016, the US and China had formally ratified the Paris agreement, which was adopted by 195 parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change last December in Paris. On the other hand, it is expected that the European Union and Russia, the other two among the top five emitters, will ratify the agreement soon.

Paris Agreement

• It was adopted by more than 190 countries at the 21st Conference of Parties of UNFCCC (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) held in Paris in December 2015.

• It seeks to encourage global action to reduce greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. This would help in preventing catastrophic effects of climate change.

• It seeks to give a momentum to actions being taken to adapt to the impacts of climate change, and raise financial and technological resources to do so.

• Initially, the Paris Agreement supposed to come into operation by 2020, the year when the existing Kyoto Protocol, the international arrangement to deal with climate change, expires. But later, the deadline was dropped and it will come into force after 30-days after the minimum ratifications are over.

• For few years, the Paris Agreement as well as the Kyoto Protocol would exist side by side.

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