UK Ratifies Paris Climate Agreement

London, 18/11/2016 (MAP) – The UK has become the 111th country to ratify the Paris climate agreement, which aims to avoid the most devastating effects of climate change by cutting carbon emissions.

The foreign minister, Boris Johnson, signed the pact in London on Thursday after a parliamentary deadline passed on Wednesday night, with no objections raised.

Speaking at the UN climate summit in Marrakech, Industry and Climate minister, Nick Hurd, said that “the UK is ratifying the historic Paris agreement so that we can help to accelerate global action on climate change and deliver on our commitments to create a safer, more prosperous future for us all.

“I hope this will send a very strong message of continued international commitment to implement Paris because it is obviously very important to send that signal out,” he added.

To meet its climate commitments, the UK will have to decarbonise the lion’s share of its electricity by 2030.