UNSG hails Paris Climate Agreement entry into force
November 5, 2016, 11:15 am

The Secretary-General called the entry into force of the Paris Climate Agreement a “historic moment” [Xinhua]

“Today we make history in humankind’s efforts to combat climate change,” Ban told a gathering of activists combating climate change at UN Headquarters in New York.

He compared the Paris Climate Agreement, which was agreed to in December 2015 as having been done in “record time” when compared to the Kyoto Climate Agreement of 1997, which took eight years to come into force and was largely dismissed even by some of its signatories.

“We are still in a race against time,” he said. “We need to transition to a low-emissions and climate-resilient future.” “I ask each and every one of you to keep up the fight,” Ban said. “Hold governments accountable and press for action.”

Now the challenge is how to move the money, say Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and Agustín Carstens, Governor of the Bank of Mexico.

The #ParisAgreement – Now We Need to Move the Money https://t.co/mjiP4E6Dho #UNFCCC #ParisClimateAgreement pic.twitter.com/1YIlnoxAhR

— The BRICS Post (TBP) (@TheBricsPost) November 4, 2016

The Paris agreement on climate change was adopted with no objection by the 196 Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) during the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) hosted by France in December last year.

The Paris pact, which sets a target of limiting global warming by 2100 to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius by curbing greenhouse gas emissions, will not be a fully legally binding treaty.

The final Paris accord has agreed that rich nations need to maintain a $100 billion a year funding pledge beyond 2020, and use that figure as a “floor” for further support agreed by 2025.