(VOVworld) - The landmark Paris Agreement on climate change will take force on November 4, after a coalition of the world's largest polluters and small island nations threatened by rising seas pushed it past a key threshold on Wednesday.
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| White bears costumed activists demonstrate near the Eiffel Tower, in Paris, Dec. 12, 2015 during the UN Climate Change Conference. The agreement goes into force Nov. 4 for the over 50 nations that have adopted it. |
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the agreement's strong international support a "testament for the urgency of action" and President Barack Obama hailed the news as "a turning point for our planet."
UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said late on Wednesday that the European Union and 10 countries deposited their instruments of ratification on Wednesday.
The 10 countries were Austria, Bolivia, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Malta, Nepal, Portugal and Slovakia. The percentage of emissions they account for topped the 55 percent threshold needed for the treaty to take effect.