UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has invited all world leaders to UN HQ in New York on 22 April for a signing ceremony of the Paris climate agreement, agreed in December 2015. The signing event occurs on the first day the agreement will be open for signature, which coincides with Earth Day.

 

The COP21 climate negotiations in Paris concluded last December with the adoption of the Paris Accord, as agreed by the 195 Member States party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

 

This agreement was an unprecedented success, with countries committing to actions that will limit global temperature rises to 'well-below' the anticipated target of 2ºC, and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increases to 1-5ºC. Progress on national commitments to reduce emissions in order to reach this target will be reviewed every 5 years, beginning in 2018.

 

Adaptive measures will be critical in mitigating climate change, and developed countries have pledged USD 100 billon to support development and implementation of appropriate strategies in developing countries.

 

Furthermore, the concept of health as an adverse effect of climate change is embedded in the agreement, with a reference to the human right to health included in the preamble, and health cited as an incentive for short term action between 2016 and 2020. This will serve as a catalyst for further action around collaboration to use health is effectively addressed as part of the response to climate change going forward.