The European Parliament this morning voted overwhelmingly to approve the Paris Climate Change Agreement that was brokered last year.
This vote paves the way for the agreement to be ratified by the European Union, following the decision by the European Council to give the agreement the green light on Friday, September 30.
Both UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, and Paris Climate Conference President, Ségolène Royal, were present at the vote.
The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon spoke of the importance of tackling the problem of climate change prior to the vote.
The European Union has a long and proud record of leadership on climate change, the defining challenge of our time.
“As members of the European Union, your countries have demonstrated time and again that you not only recognise the seriousness of this threat but you are also ready to seize the opportunities it brings for building more sustainable, competitive economies and stable and healthier societies,” he said.
The agreement sets out a global action plan to put the world on track to avoid dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to well below two degrees.
Meanwhile, EU ratification would trigger the entry into force of the first-ever universal, legally-binding global climate deal.
The Paris Agreement
The Paris agreement was agreed by 195 countries at the Paris climate conference (COP21) in December 2015.
Under the agreement, Ireland has committed to reduce greenhouse gases by at least 40% by 2030.
Despite, 62 countries having ratified the agreement the threshold of 55% of global emissions has not been met yet, even after the ratification of the climate deal by the US, China and India, according to the EU Parliament.
However, now that the EU will ratify the agreement, it will come into force on the 30th day after the date on which it has been ratified.
