BRUSSELS - The European Union (EU) on Tuesday urged the early signature, ratification and entry into force of the COP21 Paris agreements on climate change.
The Paris agreement was adopted in December 2015 by the 196 parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) during the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) hosted by France.
The agreement will enter into force when at least 55 parties representing at least 55 percent of global emissions have ratified it.
The European Commission looked at the next steps in the process and how the Paris agreement would be implemented in the EU. They called for a European Council decision on the signing of the agreement on behalf of the EU.
Moreover, the EU would need to be ready to participate in the review processes under the Paris agreement that is designed to keep climate change well below 2 degrees Celsius and work towards a 1.5 degrees Celcius cap, said the Commission.
It urged that "by 2020, all countries should communicate their mid-century, long-term de-carbonization strategies."
To facilitate the preparation of the EU's strategy, the Commission said it would prepare an in-depth analysis of the economic and social transformations in order to feed the political debate in the European Parliament, Council and with other stakeholders.
In February, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on all world leaders to sign the Paris agreement on climate change at a signature ceremony on April 22 in New York. (Xinhua)