The UK is set to ratify the world’s first comprehensive agreement on tackling climate change after Parliament raised no objections to the deal.
The Paris Agreement commits countries to taking action to keep temperature rises to “well below” 2C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to keep rises to 1.5C, which will require
greenhouse gas emissions to fall to net zero within decades.
It was put before Parliament as part of the process for UK ratification, and the required 21 day period for parliamentary scrutiny has now expired with no objections raised by the House of Commons or Lords.
The Government is expected to ratify it on Thursday.
More than 100 countries have already officially signed up to the deal, which came into force earlier this month.
But concerns about international efforts to drive down the greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change have been raised by the US election.
President-elect Donald Trump has previously claimed global warming was a hoax made up by the Chinese to make US manufacturing uncompetitive, and has promised to boost polluting coal and pull out of the Paris Agreement.
Barry Gardiner, shadow minister for international climate change said: “I welcome the good news that the UK is now ready to ratify the historic Paris Agreement.
“This strong signal of the UK’s commitment to international co-operation on climate change is even more important following the US election.
“The UK Government must now show their commitment through climate action on the ground.
“We face a 47% shortfall to meet our 2030 climate target. Pursuing fracking and a six-fold tax hike on solar business rates only take us in the wrong direction,” he added.
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