President Obama praised the ratification of the Paris Agreement by the European Union, which would allow the world’s first climate change agreement to take effect, as a possible turning point for the planet Wednesday.
“Today, the world has officially crossed the threshold for the Paris Agreement to take effect,” he said. “Today, the world has met the moment.”
The European Union ratified the agreement on Wednesday, ensuring that the two necessary conditions for the agreement to take effect were met. Fifty-five countries accounting for 55 percent of the world’s carbon emissions needed to ratify the agreement for it to take effect.
The agreement by 196 countries goes into effect in 30 days.
The Paris Agreement was completed in December and saw 196 countries from around the world come together to try to limit global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius.
Most scientists believe mankind is causing climate change through the burning of fossil fuels, releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and subsequently causing the globe to warm.
Each country came up with its own plan to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. But the commitments are not legally binding and critics say the deal lacks teeth. The United States committed to reducing its carbon emissions between 26-28 percent by 2025 based on 2005 levels.
The Paris Agreement also contains commitments from rich countries to send money to poorer countries so they can develop more clean energy sources. Those financial commitments are also not legally binding.
The countries agreed to meet every five years to re-assess their greenhouse gas reduction commitments with an eye toward ramping up the reductions if possible.
Russia, the world’s fifth-biggest emitter, has not ratified the deal.
Obama acknowledged that the deal isn’t enough to save the planet from changing due to global warming in its current state. While it aims to limit temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius, the planet has already warmed 1 degree Celsius over pre-Industrial Revolution levels, scientists say. If all commitments in the agreement were met, global temperatures would still rise 2.7 degrees Celsius.
But, Obama said the deal lays out a path for the future.
“Make no mistake, this agreement will help delay or avoid some of the worst consequences of climate change,” Obama said.
He added that the Paris Agreement is a major signal to clean energy developers around the world that there is a market for their products. Obama said he expects innovation around clean energy to pick up and help solve climate challenges.
Obama said he’s not sure if climate change can be totally avoided, but the agreement is a positive sign.
“Today, I’m a little more confident we can get the job done,” he said.
