Commission welcomes entry into force of Paris Agreement

Today the Paris Agreement on climate change enters into force, 30 days after the EU’s ratification took it over the threshold to take effect. The new milestone comes less than a year after the historic agreement was adopted.

European Commission Vice-President in charge of the Energy Union, Maroš Šefčovič, said: “Today’s entry into force of the Paris Agreement, less than a year after its adoption, shows one thing: that the entire world shares a pressing sense of urgency when it comes to fighting climate change. Inaction is not an option; slowing down is not our course of action. We are ready to seize this momentum to speed up work on the clean energy transition, in our Union and globally. We are ready to work at all levels, including the local level, to bring the benefits of this transition to our citizens.”

The agreement’s entry into force takes place just days ahead of the UN climate conference in Marrakech, Morocco, from 7 to 18 November. The conference – COP22 – will aim to show that the shift to a global low-carbon economy is under way, and can in turn catalyse further action. The EU expects to see tangible progress on key elements of the Paris package. This includes access to finance for developing countries, and developing the skills they need to implement their domestic climate plans. The EU and its Member States are the biggest contributors of public climate finance to developing countries. Together they provide around a third of public funding available for action to tackle climate change, and account for almost half of the pledges in the Green Climate Fund.

Compliments of the European Commission