Hungary among first EU states to ratify Paris climate pact

Budapest, October 7 (MTI) – Hungary was among the first European Union member states to complete internal ratification of the Paris climate agreement and was among the first to deposit the deeds at the United Nations headquarters, the National Development Ministry said on Friday.

Along with six other states — Austria, France, Malta, Germany, Portugal and Slovakia — Hungary ratified the agreement on Oct. 5, after the European Parliament and the European Council did so the previous day. The agreement enters force on November 4.

Two conditions applied to enforcing the agreement: at least 55 countries had to ratify it and these countries had to be responsible for at least 55 percent of global emissions. The two largest emitters, the United States and China, also ratified the document recently. With the latest signings in October, altogether 72 countries are now party to the pact and their emissions account for 56.725 percent of the global output.

The Paris climate accord will clearly play a decisive role in the post-2020 fight against climate change, the ministry said.

A conference inviting all the signatory countries will be held in Marrakesh on Nov. 8. Countries will debate more nuanced rules and regulations concerning climate change. Hungary will participate in the conference with full voting rights.

The main pledge of the Paris Agreement, adopted on Dec. 12. 2015, is to keep global temperature rise at below 2 degrees Celsius. One of the key components of the agreement is financing, which encourages all countries to take part with the widest possible involvement of private capital.

Photo: MTI

Source: MTI