Paris climate accord to go into force, Australia misses out

(Australia was once among the world’s leaders in doing something to address climate change, now it sits comfortably among the laggards – Robert McLean)

Smoke belches from the chimney of a factory on
 the outskirts of Gauhati, India. The country
formally joined the Paris accord on Sunday.

The Paris climate accord negotiated last year has been ratified by enough countries for it to go into force.

A group of European nations raised support for the Paris Climate Change Agreement to countries that represent 56.75 per cent of world greenhouse gas emissions, above the 55 per cent needed for implementation.

Germany, France, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and Malta - European Union nations that have completed domestic ratification and account for about 4 per cent of emissions - formally signed up on Wednesday.

In total, 72 countries out of 195 have ratified the agreement, the UN said.

Read the story in today’s Melbourne Age - “Paris climate accord to go into force, Australia misses out.”