China and US formally join Paris Agreement

World’s two largest carbon emitters, China and US, formally join Paris Agreement

Beijing, 3 September 2016 - The world’s two largest carbon emitters, China and the United States, today announced they have formally joined the Paris Agreement in a major step to bring it into force and start what must be far more ambitious international climate action.

“The world finally has a global climate agreement with both the U.S. and China as formal Parties. This signals a new era in global efforts to address climate change. Both countries now need to scale and speed up their efforts in charting a future that avoids the worst impacts of climate change,” said Jennifer Morgan Executive Director of Greenpeace International.

“Presidents Xi and Obama’s joint announcement this evening sends a strong signal to the world that Paris has moved from agreement to action,” said Greenpeace's Senior Climate Policy Adviser Li Shuo.

“Today’s commitment brings the possibility of the Paris Agreement entering into force early much closer to reality. But this moment should be seen as a starting point, not the finale, of global action on climate,” said Li Shuo.

The statement also concludes a series of bilateral deals on climate issues between Beijing and Washington under Obama’s watch, which Greenpeace believes should be strengthened in the coming years.

“The Paris agreement is a benchmark for global negotiations on climate, not the end goal,” said Kyle Ash, Senior Legislative Representative of Greenpeace USA. “The United States and China should now advocate internationally that Paris comes into force as soon as possible, so that the world can continue moving forward.”

The G20 summit now offers a testing ground for the world’s eighteen other leading economies to display their commitment to Paris.

The Paris Agreement will enter into force after 55 countries that account for at least 55% of global emissions have deposited their instruments of ratification. The US and China together account for 38% of global emissions.

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