In Case Of Republican Presidency, Adjust Paris Climate Agreement For Immediate Ratification

The United Nations News Centre has reported that 175 world leaders signed the Paris agreement, a symbolic gesture, especially since the signing took place on Earth Day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp3LQrbh-Wo

The article published on the United Nations (U.N.) site, reminds readers that 196 Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) agreed to the language that was initially presented at the COP21 event in Paris last December.

The UNFCCC’s objective, according to the treaty site — which is the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol and the ultimate objective of both — is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system.

The UNFCCC was negotiated during the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in June of 1992 and entered into force in March of 1994.

Currently, the Paris Climate Agreement, though signed, has not been entered into force as it still requires that the parties deposit their instruments for ratification.

The article by the U.N. says that 15 UNFCCC parties were congratulated for already doing so, by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The Associated Press, via ABC News, reported that French President Francois Hollande was the first to sign the agreement on Friday, who also congratulated all of those who made the effort to do so.

The United States reportedly also signed the Paris Climate Agreement.

When the Inquisitr first reported on the Paris Climate Agreement last year, it noted that the language had to be changed in order for President Obama to get around a Republican controlled senate, who already established that they would make no effort to support any effort to consider any climate-related legistlation, which another report, also by the Inquisitr, also covered.

As shown in the video above, Ban Ki-moon said the effort of so many countries signing a deal such as this had never been seen before, and was a major effort to take place in one day.

Both sources have also expressed the urgency of the situation by saying that “we’re running out of time.”

With the same urgency, Kerry stated that the United States intends to ratify their agreement before the end of the year.

Resistance is futile: Republicans grope for way to kill Paris #climate agreement https://t.co/aucYA9oOzj pic.twitter.com/uQINg3unvi

— Citizens' Climate Lobby (@citizensclimate) December 21, 2015

The Sydney Morning Herald explains the reason to hope for the deal is around the possibility that a Republican U.S. President takes the oval office.

“Once the accord enters into force, a little-noted Article 28 of the agreement says any nation wanting to withdraw must wait four years, the length of a U.S. presidential term.”

Reuters goes into more details about this, where developing nations and the U.N. seek rapid ratification of the Paris Climate Agreement.

“I would expect non-compliance, but not necessarily a formal withdrawal under a Republican president,” said Oliver Geden, of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.

The Reuters article points this out further by referring to when President Clinton signed the Kyoto Protocol, he was also facing a “hostile” senate, but never submitted it to them; and then the Bush administration refused to ratify, saying that it would threaten U.S. job growth.

While many have been skeptical about the Paris Climate Agreement being similar to the Kyoto Protocol in being a potential failure, many are saying that this is very different, and with the action by many nations — still non-binding — could perhaps be proof of that.

Many also acknowledge that legal ramifications the U.S. is currently facing with lowering carbon emissions, as well as the battle to meet this year’s publicly-announced goal to ratify the Paris Climate Agreement before the president leaves office.

[Image by Mary Altaffe/AP Photo]