WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 4, 2016) The Paris Climate Agreement was ratified by the European Parliament today, pushing it past the threshold of 55 countries representing 55 percent of worldwide emissions needed to enter into force. The historic deal will enter into force 30 days after crossing this threshold, likely in advance of the 22nd Conference of the Parties in Marrakech.

The BlueGreen Alliance released a statement from Executive Director Kim Glas:

“Today is a historic day, and we applaud the international community for setting the foundation for global action to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

“The Paris Climate agreement will not only make significant strides in addressing climate change, but will also spur the global economy by driving research and development, modernizing technologies, and growing jobs in the clean energy sector. By setting an ambitious goal to keep the world below a temperature increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius, all signatory nations will be positioned to adopt new technologies and practices to curb climate change, bringing the world closer to a clean energy future.

“Much needs to be done to strengthen and codify the elements of the Paris Agreement that ensure a just transition for impacted workers and establish a mechanism for thorough measurement, review, and verification of each nation’s commitments. That is our work ahead, but for now, we applaud President Obama’s leadership, and his administration’s tireless efforts to get this historic agreement done. We look forward to building off of Paris Agreement to achieve the critical emissions reductions necessary to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.”