Slovak gov't approves Paris Climate Agreement

The Slovak Government approved the ratification of the Paris climate agreement that binds countries to greenhouse gas emission reduction on Wednesday.

The document will further have to be approved at the ongoing session of Parliament and the national ratification process will be completed with Slovak President Andrej Kiska's signature.

Main goals of the agreement include keeping the increase in global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. This would significantly reduce risks and the impacts of climate change.

"The priority of Slovakia's Presidency of the EU Council is to ensure that the Paris Agreement will have been ratified by the end of the year by all the key states, including the Union itself," stressed Slovak Environment Minister Laszlo Solymos, who saw the Cabinet approval as a positive signal to other countries and the international community.

The document will become fully effective only if it's ratified by 55 countries that produce at least 55 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions -- according to a list from 2015. Endit