Pakistan ratifies Climate Change accord

UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan on Thursday ratified the Paris Agreement on Climate Change that commits nearly every country to lowering planet warming greenhouse gas emissions to help stave off the most drastic effects of global warming.

Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, deposited the Instrument of Ratification signed by the President of Pakistan at a ceremony held at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

With today’s ratification Pakistan has become 104th country to ratify the agreement which entered into force earlier this month. Pakistan had signed the agreement on the first day of its opening for signature in New York in April this year.

The conditions for the agreement’s entry into force were met on Oct 5 requiring ratification by at least 55 countries that account for 55 percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions.The agreement obliges member states to keep global warming below 2 centigrade regarded as the threshold for safety by experts and scientists.

Pakistan’s ratification is in line with its firm commitment to the purposes and objectives of the Climate Convention. It also highlights the resolve of the Government of Pakistan to remain fully committed to the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

Pakistan played a leading role in the Climate Change negotiations and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif himself led the delegation to Paris last December where Islamabad joined the international consensus on the agreement.

This ratification by Pakistan also coincides with the ongoing Marrakesh Climate Change Conference which is intended to take important decisions for the comprehensive implementation of the Paris Agreement and maintain the momentum achieved in Paris and subsequently.