Vietnam has joined the growing list of nations pledging to ratify the Paris climate change agreement by the end of the year. The nation, which accounts for .72 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, stated Monday in a joint announcement with the U.S. that they will “[i]mplement the historic Paris Agreement. To reflect the importance of the international effort, both countries signed the Agreement on April 22, 2016, with the intention of joining as soon as possible this year,” the announcement says.
The U.S. stated its intention to join the agreement by the end of the year in April. The Paris Agreement, the first climate change agreement to include developed and developing nations, will come into force once 55 parties, representing at least 55 percent of global emissions, have joined. Currently, 17 nations, representing .04 percent of global GHG emissions, have joined the agreement.
Along with the U.S. and Vietnam, China, the world’s largest emitter, has also committed to joining the agreement before the year’s end. These three countries together represent 38.7 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.