S. African parliament to ratify Paris Agreement on climate change
Xinhua, October 20, 2016 Adjust font size:
The South African cabinet has approved that the Paris Agreement on Climate Change be submitted to Parliament for ratification, Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Jeff Radebe said on Thursday.
The Paris Agreement is a legal instrument that will further guide the process for universal action on climate change, Radebe said while briefing the media in Pretoria on a just concluded cabinet meeting.
The agreement brings all nations into a common cause of acting collectively to the threat of climate change, in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty, the minister said.
The agreement, adopted at the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) last December in Paris, marked a historic turning point in the world's response to climate change. It sets the goal of holding the increase in global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius.
South Africa's signing of the agreement sends a positive signal of our continued commitment to contribute to the global effort to address the challenge of climate change, Radebe said. Endit