Pakistan becomes 104th country to ratify Paris climate deal

With work underway at the COP22 climate summit in Marrakesh to shape the rules of the Paris Agreement, it is clear that – in the words of United Nations climate chief Patricia Espinosa – “the Paris Agreement has an incredible amount of legitimacy”. Observers from the United States and other countries stressed that it was too soon to say what the Trump Administration would do.

The election of a candidate viewed with horror by many environmental campaigners, has cast a significant shadow over COP22 – the annual meeting of climate delegates from nearly 200 countries. They woke to find the global climate process thrown into chaos.

He also plans to scrap Barack Obama’s signature Clean Power Plan, which is the main policy created to lower USA emissions.

“A Trump presidency might be game over for the climate”, said Michael Mann, a respected climate change expert.

Other organizations also urge the new president to take the Paris Agreement seriously.

Of course Trump could, in theory, pull the United States out of the Paris regime, but that would be stunningly misguided.

But in hotel rooms and conference halls, as negotiators, activists and journalists prepared to convene for a round of talks aimed at putting the Paris Agreement into motion, many were left grasping for reaction to a Trump presidency. “We would like to remind the world that the U.S. can not hold climate action to ransom anymore”. “He has laid out an energy plan that puts the needs of American families and workers first”.

Pakistan has ratified the Paris Agreement on Climate Change at a ceremony held at United Nations Headquarters in NY.

The US president-elect “cannot prevent the implementation” of the landmark Paris pact, inked in the French capital last December, said Segolene Royal, France’s environment minister and outgoing head of the United Nations climate forum. He also tweeted that “the concept of climate change was created by and for the Chinese in order to make USA manufacturing non-competitive”.

“It’s clear Donald Trump is about to be one of the most powerful people in the world”, said Alden Meyer, from the Union of Concerned Scientists.

President-elect Donald Trump has sworn to back out of the Paris climate deal – a move that could potentially tank the historic multi-nation agreement, or at least make it extremely hard to implement.

“We’re not giving up the fight and neither should the worldwide community”. Referring to the impacts of climate change on US, Kelly said, “This is a global crisis that President-elect Trump will have to address”. Only one year’s notice is required to withdraw from that umbrella agreement, which would effectively end USA involvement in the Paris accord. The new administration might submit it to the Senate for ratification, which would likely be denied.

“The Paris Agreement was signed and ratified not by a President, but by the United States itself”.

The election-night surprise occurred at the beginning of the first week of talks in Marrakech.

Trump energy adviser Kevin Cramer, a USA representative from North Dakota, recently stated that a Trump administration would submit the agreement for a ratification vote in the Senate, which would likely fail.

Republicans are still in the midst of celebrating the party’s return to the White House.

In contrast to Barack Obama, who made climate change a key policy area, Trump has called global warming a “hoax” on social media and pledged in May to “cancel” the Paris deal, which was adopted in the French capital past year. But as a self-confessed pragmatic businessman, Trump should recognise that there is not only an economic case for tacking climate change but that global low-carbon growth also provides an opportunity to the USA economy, its workforce and many of its vibrant businesses.

But the accord has since entered into force in worldwide law.

Policy makers, advocates and campaigners, some of whom are gathered this week in Morocco to discuss the implementation of the Paris deal, are alarmed at the prospect of Trump taking office in January.