UN says 31 more countries join climate agreement

UNITED NATIONS -- The Paris Agreement on climate change has moved closer towards entry into force, as 31 more countries joined the agreement on Wednesday at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

At a special event held here, the 31 countries including Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Thailand deposited their ratification of the agreement with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Moreover, the European Union, Canada, Australia and some other countries have promised, through videos, to join the agreement no later than this year.

According to Ban, 60 parties representing over 47.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions have joined the agreement, meeting one of the two requirements for bringing the Paris Agreement into force.

The agreement, adopted in December 2015, needs 55 nations that together account for 55 percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions to ratify before it can formally enter into force.

In this regard, "I appeal to all leaders to accelerate your domestic procedures to join the agreement this year," said Ban.

On Sept 3, the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, ratified the agreement, which outlines post-2020 global climate governance.

The much-anticipated Paris Agreement is the third international document on addressing climate change, following the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.