State Secretary Ivan Korčok: “Another major success for the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the European Union”
Strasbourg (4 October) - The European Parliament gave its consent today to the ratification of the Paris Agreement on climate change. This represents a milestone moment and enables the Council of the EU, now led by the Slovak Presidency, to adopt a definitive decision on the European Union’s ratification of the Paris Agreement, which will mark the culmination of the approval process of that important document at the level of the European Union.
In addition to representatives of the EP political groups, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon i and State Secretary at the Slovak Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and Government Plenipotentiary for the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the European Union Ivan Korčok also spoke in the EP. Mr Korčok also attended a ceremonial lunch organised by President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz i in honour of Ban Ki-moon.
“The approval of the Paris Agreement is a historical moment for the European Union and also a major success for the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the European Union,” said Mr Korčok. “In the context of calls for enhanced capacity of the EU for action, this proves that the Union is capable of agreement and of attaining tangible results,” he added. The Slovak Presidency of the Council of the European Union contributed significantly to the approval of the Paris Agreement on climate change.
The EP vote was preceded by agreement to enter into the Paris Agreement reached by ministers for the environment at an extraordinary session chaired by Slovak Minister for the Environment László Sólymos. Mr Sólymos, together with the European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete i, will deposit the instruments of ratification of the Paris Agreement on climate change with the depositary of the United Nations in New York on 7 October.
“The European Union is a global leader in the fight against climate change, especially by curbing greenhouse gas emissions in all sectors of economy,” said Mr Korčok, who also noted that the ratification of the Paris Agreement would allow the European Union to continue to act as the leading player in this area, for example at the forthcoming COP 22 climate change conference in Marrakech, Morocco.
The Paris Agreement will enter into force on the 30th day after the date on which it has been ratified by at least 55 parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, accounting in total for at least 55% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The agreement seeks to keep the increase in global average temperature by the end of this century to below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and, if possible, to limit it to well below 1.5°C. The introduction of these measures should lead to carbon neutrality, in other words a situation where the amount of greenhouse gases emitted are no greater than what the Earth’s ecosystem is able to absorb.