Pak ratifies Paris climate agreement

Pakistan has ratified the Paris Agreement on Climate Change at a ceremony held at United Nations Headquarters in New York, becoming the 104th country in the world to ratify the landmark deal.
Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN Maleeha Lodhi deposited the Instrument of Ratification signed by the President of Pakistan.
"Withthe ratification, Pakistan has become 104thcountry to ratify the agreement, which entered into force earlier this month," the Foreign Office said in a statement today.
Pakistan had signed the agreement on the first day of its opening for signature in New York in April this year.
On October 5, 2016 the conditions for the agreement's entry into force were met which required ratification by at least 55 countries, accounting for 55 per cent of all global greenhouse gas emissions.

The agreement obliges member states to keep global warming below 2 centigrade regarded as the threshold for safety by experts and scientists.

Pakistan's ratification is in line with its firm commitment to the purposes and objectives of the Climate Convention. It also highlights the resolve of the of Pakistan to remain fully committed to the implementation of the Paris Agreement, the statement said.
It said that Pakistan played a leading role in the Climate Change negotiations. The Prime Minister of Pakistan had himself led the delegation to Paris last December where Pakistan joined the international consensus on Climate Change.
This ratification by Pakistan also coincides with the ongoing Marrakesh Climate Change Conference, which is intended to take important decisions for the comprehensive implementation of the Paris Agreement and maintain the momentum achieved in Paris and subsequently, it added.