In this Sunday, Dec. 6, 2015, photo, the Eiffel Tower lights up with the slogan ‘Action Now’ referring to the COP21, United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris. The carbon footprint for the COP21 conference runs to thousands of tons, for the some 40,000 people, including heads of state, negotiators, activists and journalists, in Paris to hash out a ground-breaking international agreement to put a brake on global warming. AP
UNITED NATIONS, United States — France’s ecology minister Segolene Royal said Wednesday she wants to see the Paris climate deal take effect by November, just before a new round of climate talks opens in Morocco.
Royal called for “accelerating the ratification” of the accord after a meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York to discuss the international deal aimed at curbing greenhouse-gas emissions.
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“I would like the agreement to be in force in time for the Marrakech conference” that opens on November 7, Royal said.
Only 19 countries including France and island-states threatened by rising sea levels have so far ratified the agreement, which cannot become effective until 55 countries accounting for 55 percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions have fully approved it.
The United Nations is hosting an international gathering on September 21 to push countries to present their ratification of the Paris deal.
Royal said countries will be asked to provide “proof” of their intention to fully adopt the agreement.
“We should no longer be satisfied with statements of intent,” she said.
At a UN signing ceremony in April, 177 countries and parties signed the agreement, including the United States and China, the world’s biggest polluters.
Washington and Beijing have pledged to ratify the climate deal this year.
The Paris pact calls for capping global warming at well below two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), and 1.5 C (2.7 F) if possible, compared with pre-industrial levels.