The Paris Agreement on climate change will soon enter into force, with or without the ratification by the European Union, European environmental group Bellona said Tuesday. However, it is vital for the EU to ratify the agreement if it wants to be an environmental leader, the organization added in a press release: “[F]ailure to rapidly ratify the agreement risks damaging the EU’s historic reputation as the leader in climate diplomacy.”
The Paris Agreement will enter into force 30 days after being ratified by 55 nations representing at least 55 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Currently, 61 nations representing 47.79 percent of global emissions have taken this step. India has announced 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.
The EU in total accounts for roughly 12 percent of global emissions, but ratification by the 28-nation coalition is more difficult than for individual nations. It was initially understood that each EU member nation would have to ratify the agreement domestically before the EU as a whole could ratify. However, with entry into force looming, the EU risks being left behind. An upcoming meeting of the EU Environmental Council will address fast-tracking approval, but there is a wrench in the works, according to Bellona: “A major obstacle to this, however, is the opposition of coal-dependent Poland. Only if its energy priorities are considered, would it back such a process. This new development seems to raise levels of uncertainty about whether such a fast-track is realistic or not.”
