Brazil on Monday ratified the Paris Agreement on climate change. The Paris Agreement, the first global climate change accord, will enter into force 30 days after 55 nations representing at least 55 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval, or accession to the U.N. Brazil is expected to submit its document in the near future.
Brazil is responsible for 2.48 percent of global emissions, putting it at No. 7 worldwide. The nations that have ratified the agreement to date, including Brazil, account for a total of 41.56 percent of global emissions. That is primarily due to the recent inclusion of China and the United States, respectively the world’s No. 1 and 2 emitters.
Early this year, Brazil pledged to join the agreement by the end of 2016. A large number of other nations have made the same commitment. According to Climate Analytics, they are: Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Chile, Comoros, Costa Rica, Ghana, Honduras, Indonesia, Iran, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Liberia, Mali, Mexico, Micronesia, Monaco, Morocco, New Zealand, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Ukraine, Vanuatu, and Vietnam.
If all of those nations make good on their commitments, 59 countries accounting for 59.9 percent of emissions will join the agreement by the end of the year. Of course, because of the 30-day lag time, the agreement in that scenario might not enter into force until early 2017.
The U.N. will host a special event on Sept. 21 at its headquarters in New York to give nations an opportunity to formally join the agreement.