Paris climate agreement takes center stage at UNGA

Global Business

The environment was also a focus of much discussion in the sidelines of the United Nation’s General Assembly. At the center of these talks: the Paris Agreement on climate change.

It’s one of the final touches before U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon rides off into the sunset.

CCTV America’s Mimi Chiahemen reports.

Sixty countries accounting for nearly 48 percent of greenhouse gas emissions had joined the agreement by mid-morning in New York on Wednesday, meeting one of two thresholds for the Paris Agreement to enter into force.

That satisfied the requirement that at least 55 countries sign on. But the second threshold requires those signatories to represent 55 percent of global emissions and they fall a little short. New signatories representing 7.5 percent of global emissions are still needed.

But Moon said the progress made in the span of just nine months is remarkable.

“What once seemed impossible is now inevitable. I am confident by the time I leave office the Paris Agreement will have entered into force,” Moon said.

The Paris Agreement marks a pivotal step in the long march to address climate change, with China and the U.S., leading the charge.