The Paris climate accord, which requires participating countries to work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to keep global temperature rise to below 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, will go into effect on Nov. 4.
President Obama called the news a "turning point for our planet," and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the support is a "testament for the urgency of action." The agreement was adopted by consensus on Dec. 12, 2015, and needed countries representing 55 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions to join before it could go into effect — that threshold was met Wednesday when the European Union and 10 countries deposited their instruments of ratification, a U.N. spokesperson said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Why are home insurance prices going up?Today's Big Question Climate-driven weather events are raising insurers' costs
-
'All too often, we get caught up in tunnel vision'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
2024: the year of legacy media failuresIn the Spotlight From election criticism to continued layoffs, the media has had it rough in 2024
-
2024: the year of extreme hurricanesIn the Spotlight An eagle eye at a deadly hurricane season
-
Chocolate is the latest climate change victim, but scientists may have solutionsUnder the radar Making the sweet treat sustainable
-
Hundreds feared dead in French Mayotte cycloneSpeed Read Cyclone Chido slammed into Mayotte, a French territory in the Indian Ocean
-
How would reaching net zero change our lives?Today's Big Question Climate target could bring many benefits but global heating would continue
-
Thirteen missing after Red Sea tourist boat sinksSpeed Read The vessel sank near the Egyptian coastal town of Marsa Alam
-
Global plastics summit starts as COP29 endsSpeed Read Negotiators gathering in South Korea seek an end to the world's plastic pollution crisis, though Trump's election may muddle the deal
-
What are Trump's plans for the climate?Today's big question Trump's America may be a lot less green
-
The bacterial consequences of hurricanesUnder the radar Floodwaters are microbial hotbeds
