The EU ratifies the Paris Climate Agreement
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker: "Today the European Union has turned climate ambition into action.".
The European Parliament has approved the ratification of the Paris Agreement by the EU. With the approval of 04.10.2016, the Council of the EU can formally adopt the decision. In parallel, EU Member States can ratify the Paris Agreement individually, in accordance with their national parliamentary processes.
To date, 62 countries, accounting for almost 52% of global carbon dioxide emissions, have ratified the agreement. It will enter into force 30 days after a pre-set threshold of 55 countries, accounting for 55% of global emissions, having ratified the agreement is reached. The deposit of the EU instrument of ratification will reach the threshold, which will in turn trigger the entry into force of the agreement.
The European Union, a global leader in the fight against climate change, played a crucial role in building the coalition that led to the adoption of the Paris Agreement last December. The European Commission has already presented a legislative proposal to implement the EU's commitment to reduce emissions by at least 40% by 2030. The main objective of the Paris Agreement is to limit the increase in the global average temperature to no more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels by the end of this century. It also seeks to reach the more ambitious target of 1.5°C, which the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change considers a "significantly safer" limit against the worst effects of climate change.
Learning from the successes and failures of previous climate conferences, the Paris Agreement is a „hybrid agreement.“ This means that it contains some legally binding provisions as well as some that are voluntary, allowing for greater transparency, accountability, and participation by more countries. For example, the provision of national plan for reducing harmful emissions is mandatory for all parties to the agreement, as well as the provision of a periodic report on progress made, an international review and an effort to increase national emission reduction commitments every 5 years. However, the individual plans are non-descriptive in nature, allowing each country to determine for itself how to contribute to tackling climate change – including through the use of nuclear energy.
In fact, the world's biggest polluters, such as India and China, are relying on nuclear power in their emissions reduction programs. Unlike the burning of fossil fuels, the process of nuclear fission does not produce carbon emissions or other greenhouse gases. Unlike renewable energy sources, which pose a problem for the electricity distribution system due to their variability and unpredictability, nuclear power is a stable, predictable and baseload source of energy.
If existing nuclear capacity is decommissioned and replaced by existing technologies in the global energy mix, this will lead to an increase in total annual carbon dioxide emissions from electricity supply with 12%, making the achievement of decarbonization of the electricity supply even more difficult and distant. The expansion of nuclear energy, together with an increase in the share of energy from renewable sources and the achievement of better energy efficiency, are key to reducing harmful emissions and achieving the goals set in the Paris Agreement.
