Breaking from the “best practice” of joint ratification of international treaties, European Union environmental ministers Friday approved the early ratification of the Paris Agreement on climate change. The EU ratification has been a bit of a sticky wicket in the effort to bring the agreement into force, as under the bloc’s usual practice member states would have to wait until all had completed their domestic ratification to formally the join the accord together.
The Paris Agreement will enter into force 30 days after 55 nations representing at least 55 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions have ratified the agreement. Currently, the ticker sits at 61 nations representing 47.79 percent of GHG emissions. India, representing 4.1 percent of emissions, has pledged to ratify by Sunday, putting the deal on the doorstep of entry into force.
Pending the approval of the European Parliament, which EU Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Cañete framed as a sure thing, the EU will ratify no later than Oct. 5.
In fear of being left behind in the historically speedy ratification push, the EU has decided to fast-track its process, allowing the bloc to submit its ratification to the United Nations before all member states have ratified domestically. “They said Europe is too complicated to agree quickly. They said we had too many hoops to jump through. They said we were all talk. Today’s decision shows what Europe is all about: unity and solidarity as Member States take a European approach, just as we did in Paris. We are reaching a critical period for decisive climate action. And when the going gets tough, Europe gets going,” Cañete said in a release.
It remains uncertain how exactly the EU ratification will move the dial on GHG emissions represented. In total, the 28 EU member states represent 12.1 percent of global GHG emissions, but only seven member states have ratified the agreement domestically at this point. Those member states – Germany, France, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Malta, and Portugal – are expected to submit their documents of ratification to the U.N. at the same time as the EU presents its document. At least that’s the idea, Cañete said.
If only the emissions of those seven nations count toward the 55 percent tracker, they will move the dial 4.57 percent. That, combined with India’s ratification, would push the ticker to 56.46 percent, triggering entry into force.
If that trigger is pulled before Oct. 8, the agreement will enter into force ahead of the 22nd session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, scheduled for Nov. 7-18 in Marrakesh, Morocco.