WEB DESK
The European Parliament Tuesday overwhelmingly backed the ratification of the Paris climate deal, in a vote attended by UN Cief Ban Ki-moon. It paves the way for the landmark pact to come into force globally. The vote of 610 for, 38 against and 31 abstentions puts the European Union on track to hand over its ratification to the UN on Friday, which would then take the international community above the threshold needed for implementation.
EU environment ministers backed the fast-track ratification of the deal last Friday, despite the fact that only seven out of 28 EU countries have actually ratified it since it was sealed in Paris in December.
Fears that the US and China, the world’s two biggest polluters, are leaving Europe behind on ratifying last year’s historic deal pushed them into rushing through the ratification.
The accord needs ratification from 55 countries that account for at least 55 per cent of the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions responsible for climate change.
With decisions in the last few weeks by top three polluters China, the United States and India, a total of 62 countries have ratified the agreement to commit to take action to stem the planet’s rising temperatures.
They all account for 52 per cent of the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions, and EU ratification will bring it over 55 per cent threshold by including the seven EU countries who have already approved it.
The seven EU countries – Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Malta, Portugal and Slovakia – account for some five percent of global emissions.