Statement on the Paris Agreement on climate change from the President of the UN General Assembly H.E. Peter Thomson
UNITED NATIONS, New York, 5 October 2016 — The President of the United Nations General Assembly H.E. Peter Thomson extends his congratulations to Parties to the United Nations Climate Change Convention who have ratified the Paris Agreement. They have ensured that the second and final threshold needed for the Agreement to enter into force has now been met.
The President also congratulates the United Nations Secretary-General H.E. Ban Ki-moon on his steadfast efforts to meet this objective at an urgent pace as well as all his efforts to ensure climate action is undertaken by all actors across sectors given its significance to the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.
“Climate change is the greatest challenge of our time. Its adverse impacts undermine the ability of all countries to achieve sustainable development and the 2030 Agenda,” said the President of the General Assembly.
“The fact that today the threshold for entry into force of the Paris Agreement has been achieved is a crucial step towards attaining the goals we set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” he added.
The Paris Agreement was adopted on 12 December 2015 at the twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Paris from 30 November to 13 December 2015. It builds upon the Convention and – for the first time – draws all nations together to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects, with enhanced support to developing countries.