STOCKHOLM — Thirty more countries are expected to formally join the Paris Agreement on climate change this week, greatly improving the pact’s chances of coming into force just a year after it was negotiated in the French capital, the U.N. said Tuesday.
More than 170 world leaders have signed the deal, but it won’t take effect until 55 countries accounting for at least 55 percent of global emissions have ratified or accepted it through their domestic procedures.
That was initially expected to take several years, but 28 countries accounting for 39 percent of emissions including the world’s two biggest emitters, the United States and China, have already ratified the deal.
The 30 ratifications expected to be handed to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at a special event at U.N. headquarters in New York would bring the total to 58 countries — but many are small and their total emissions likely won’t reach the required 55 percent.
Brazil, Mexico and Argentina are the largest emitters on the list announced late Tuesday by the United Nations. But the 30 countries will only bring the emissions total to 47 percent.
At least half a dozen small island nations including Papua New Guinea, Tonga and Kiribati are expected to ratify along with several countries from Central America, Africa and Asia.
“We are ready. We will announce it in New York,” Moroccan Environment Minister Hakima el-Haite told The Associated Press.
In the world of international diplomacy, this is considered a blistering pace, reflecting a sense of urgency in the fight against global warming and a desire to seal the deal before Ban and U.S. President Barack Obama leave office.
After years of negotiations, governments agreed in Paris last December to curb the emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
Ban urged world leaders in his keynote speech at the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday to bring the Paris Agreement into force by the end of the year.
“The Earth assails us with rising seas, record heat and extreme storms,” Ban said. “With the Paris Agreement on climate change, we are tackling the defining challenge of our time.”
