Environment Ministers of all EU member states have today agreed to ratify the Paris Agreement through a process which allows the EU to deposit its instrument before the EU countries approve it separately. Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe welcomes this exceptional move and calls upon the EU to show the same commitment to increase its climate action in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
“We welcome today’s decision by the Environment Council, which shows that the EU can get its act together when put under international pressure”, Wendel Trio, Director at Climate Action Europe (CAN) Europe said.
“The unprecedented move by the international community to ratify the Paris Agreement has taught the EU an important lesson; that it can no longer take for granted to be seen as a leader and that it risks lagging behind if not acting fast and boldly enough.
There are two immediate steps that the EU must now take to prove that being a party to the Agreement when it enters into force is not only a political show-off. First of all, all member states should ratify the Paris Agreement by the end of this year, so that the objectives of the Paris Agreement can be rapidly translated into national action. Secondly, the EU must urgently – and by 2018 the latest – review its inadequate 2030 target, as it is out of sync with the objectives of the Paris Agreement.”
ENDS
Contact:
Caroline Westblom, CAN Europe Communications Officer, caroline@caneurope.org,
+32 484 566 239
Wendel Trio, CAN Europe Director, wendel@caneurope.org, +32 473 170 887
Notes to editors
The Agreement will enter into force on the 30th day after 55 countries representing 55% of global emissions have ratified it. With 61 countries representing 47.79% of global emissions having already ratified, it is likely that the Agreement will enter into force this year.
Today’s approval needs the consent of the European Parliament next week. Once the Parliament has given its consent, the Council can formally adopt the Decision through a written procedure.
Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe is Europe’s largest coalition working on climate and energy issues. With over 130 member organisations in more than 30 European countries – representing over 44 million citizens – CAN Europe works to prevent dangerous climate change and promote sustainable climate and energy policy in Europe.
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