Slovakia Becomes Fourth EU Nation to Ratify Paris Climate Change Agreement

摘要

Slovakia's Parliament ratified the United Nations Paris Agreement on climate change Sept. 21, becoming the fourth European Union country to do so after Hungary, France and Austria. However, EU countries have so far not deposited their instruments of ratification with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. They are awaiting clarification on EU-level ratification, and specifically whether a bloc-wide acceptance is needed before individual countries can be officially counted by the UN as having joined the pact. The Paris Agreement will take effect when at least 55 countries representing a minimum of 55 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions formally sign up. But the EU member state ratifications do not yet count toward that number.