Pakistan ratifies COP-21 Climate change agreement

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Pakistan has touched a new milestone as it ratifies Conference of the Parties COP-21 (Paris global climate change agreement) which was aimed at reducing  carbon emissions from the respective countries.

This move had come in the wake of Paris agreement which would be entered into force today (Friday) in Marrakech, Morocco.

Climate change ministry’s sources said that Pakistan government had forwarded a letter to the United Nation as COP-21 was under United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCC).

Paris global climate change was adopted in December, 2015, and was marked a critical turning point towards a zero-carbon and resilient world. At least 192 countries signed the agreement during the COP-21 summit held in Paris.

Pakistan had become the 95th country in the world which ratified the agreement.

The agreement had to come into force after the ratification of the countries which produced 55 percent global carbon emission.

Only two countries, United States and the China were for emitting 40percent carbon in the world.   Both countries had announced to ratify the Paris Agreement ahead of G20 summit held on September 4 this year, which had made it possible for the agreement to come into the force.

India had ratified the COP-21 agreement last month on the eve of Gandhi’s birth anniversary in a ceremony held in New Delhi.

Spokesman of Climate Change Ministry, Saleem Sheikh while talking to Pakistan Today confirmed that a letter with suggestions in view of climate change ratification was sent to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and which was later forwarded to the UN. On a question, he said that an open announcement and any ceremony regarding this development could not be held due to tense political scenario in Islamabad. However, he said that our delegation would represent the report on climate change today in Marrakech, Morocco.

The delegation will be headed by secretary Climate Change while federal director general of Climate Change and others will also be present on the occasion, Shiekh informed.

COP-22 Climate Change Conference would be held in Marrakesh from November 7 to 18 in which all member countries would present their reports regarding their responsibilities.

The Paris agreement’s central aim is to strengthen the global response to climate change by keeping a global temperature rise of this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Additionally, the agreement was aimed to strengthen the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change.