Paris agreement: European Liberals and Democrats welcome European Parliament ratification - Main contents

After an official ceremony in the European Parliament, attended by the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the European Parliament has today ratified the Paris Agreement on Climate change, finalising the political process by which the European Union ratifies the Agreement.

As soon as the EU deposits its ratification documents at the UN, the Paris deal will meet the threshold needed for activation, which is 55 nations accounting for 55 percent of global emissions. The international agreement will enter into force 30 days later.

Gerben- Jan Gerbrandy, ALDE Group Coordinator on the European Parliament’s Environment Committee said:

"Today we celebrate, tomorrow a new chapter starts. If we want the Paris agreement to deliver real change on the ground, the political momentum and the strong engagement of political leaders, civil society and business should be continued. In the next months, our challenge is to update the EU's climate law so we can speedily unleash the clean investments we need."