President signs law on UN climate agreement

President Andrzej Duda signed a law on Thursday authorizing the head of state to ratify the UN climate change agreement. This followed the Sejm’s approval of the law on Thursday. This agreement, negotiated last year in Paris, requires states to limit CO2 emissions. The aim is to keep the increase in average global temperature much lower than two degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial era. Poland’s ratification is part of the EU’s commitment to implement the agreement. For the Paris agreement to enter into force, it must be ratified by 55 countries responsible for 55 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. It has been ratified by 73 countries representing over 58 percent of global emissions and will enter into force on November 4. “We very much welcome the fact that the EU has ratified the agreement. We are also pleased that the Sejm voted in favor of ratification by an overwhelming majority,” said Krzysztof Jędrzejewski of the Climate Coalition, an NGO.