Chile ratifies Paris Agreement on climate change

 The government of Chile announced on Friday that it ratified the Paris Agreement on climate change, a landmark accord on curbing greenhouse gas emissions.

"Chile participated in an active manner ...influencing the recognition of important topics to our interests, such as adaptation to climate change, the link to the preservation of oceans, and the mitigation of the impact of this phenomenon," said Chilean Foreign Ministry in a statement.

The Paris Agreement was agreed by the 195 member economies that attended the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris.

"Chile is one of the countries most vulnerable and affected by climate change. This agreement will allow us to depend on a legal mark to realize the changes required for more resilient, low emissions development," said Foreign Minister Heraldo Munoz in the statement.

With the ratification, Chile is committed to "continue developing climate change policies, as well as advancing toward the fulfillment of its sustainable development objectives," according to the statement.

The agreement seeks to contain the rise in global average temperatures to under two degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels by the end of the century and strive for 1.5 degrees if possible.

For the first time, the agreement introduced ambitious targets to increase countries' capacity to adapt to climate change.

source: Xinhua