Susan Jaffe | Washington Correspondent for The Lancet | 19th April 2016
Secretary of State John Kerry will join world leaders at the United Nations headquarters in New York on April 22 to sign the landmark Paris Climate Change agreement, aimed at controlling greenhouse gas
es and preventing what many scientists believe would be the harmful effects of global warming.
Representatives of some 155 countries are expected at the signing ceremony, including President François Hollande of France, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other heads of state. …UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged all countries to ratify the agreement as soon as possible. “It is in their national interest to implement the agreement and reap the benefits of sustainable global climate action,” he said in an email to The Lancet.
…When 55 countries responsible for at least 55 percent of global emissions do so, the agreement takes effect. That could happen this year said UN spokeswoman Devi Palanivelu, noting that several countries are coming to New York with ratification documents they will submit after signing the agreement. But things are not moving as swiftly in the U.S. [Continued here]