Mali Formally Joins Paris Agreement

Mali on Friday became the 61st party to formally join the Paris Agreement, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) announced Monday. 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.

Mali is responsible for 0.03 percent of global emissions, meaning its ratification doesn’t move the dial much on the 55 percent requirement. The nations that have ratified the agreement to date account for a total of 47.79 percent of global emissions.

India announced Sunday its intention to join the agreement on  Oct. 2. Accounting for 4.1 percent of global emissions, India’s inclusion would push the ticker to 51.89, leaving only 3.11 percent to be accounted for, a sum easily attainable by the other nations that have pledged to join the agreement by the end of 2016.

According to a Sept. 21 U.N. media report, Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, the European Union, France, Germany, Hungary, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Poland, and South Korea pledged to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to deposit their instruments of ratification this year.

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