President Mohammadu Buhari has signed, on behalf of Nigeria, the Instrument of Ratification of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
Nigeria is ratifying the historic Paris agreement so that we can help to accelerate global action on climate change and deliver on commitments to create a safer, and more prosperous future for us all.
It’s a climate change accord agreed by nearly 200 countries in December 2015, which came into force on November 4, 2016. The agreement commits world leaders to keeping global warming below 2C, seen as the threshold for safety by scientists, and pursuing a tougher target of 1.5C.
The carbon emission curbs put forward by countries under Paris are not legally-binding but the framework of the accord, which includes a mechanism for periodically cranking those pledges up, is binding.
The agreement also has a long-term goal for net zero emissions, which would effectively phase out fossil fuels.
To date, 141 Parties have ratified of 197 Parties to the Convention. The Paris Agreement entered into force on November 4, 2016, 30 days after the date on which at least 55 Parties to the Convention accounting in total for at least an estimated 55 per cent of the total global greenhouse gas emissions have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with the Depositary.
By Marc Philips
