The Tongan government has formally ratified the Paris agreement.
The ratification was completed by the kingdom’s Prime Minister ‘Akilisi PohivaWednesday, 21 September 2016 at the United Nations Headquarter in New York.
“The adoption, signing and ratification of the Paris Agreement are wonderful news but by no means the end,” stated Ms. Patricia Espinosa the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. (UNFCCC).
On Wednesday, 31 countries formally signed up to the Paris deal including Brazil, the world’s seventh largest emitter of greenhouse gases, Mexico, Argentina and Sri Lanka. Oil-rich United Arab Emirates also ratified the deal, as did nations considered particularly vulnerable to sea level rise, such as Kiribati and Bangladesh, the Guardian reported.
“The pledges mean that a total of 60 countries, representing 47.7% of global emissions, have now formally joined the Paris agreement. The deal aims to limit the global temperature rise to 2C above pre-industrial levels, with an aspiration of keeping it to 1.5C”, it said.
