Possibility of Ratification by 2018: High Canada has not ratified the Paris Agreement as yet but newly elected Prime Minister (PM) Trudeau and Environment Minister Catherine McKenna attended the United Nations Earth Day ceremony in April, a gathering of 170 leaders in New York, to sign the agreement, recognized as a treaty in Canada. This pledges Canada to limit global temperatures from rising by no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. Parliamentary procedure – The formal process of ratifying a treaty in Canada is an executive act. Before entering into deliberations, the initiating agency submits a policy mandate to begin negotiations, called a Memorandum to Cabinet...
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South Africa Ratification Status
Possibility of Ratification by 2018: High In December 2015, 195 countries each made a national pledge to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions in a United Nations sponsored meeting in Paris. In committing to their pledges, each country signed the Paris Agreement and have agreed to work towards ratification. Signature of the Agreement serves as a commitment to refrain from acts that would defeat the objective and purpose of the Agreement, but signature does not automatically mean that a country becomes party to the Agreement. Not yet a formal party to the Paris Agreement, South Africa signed the Agreement on April 22 nd 2016, whilst on...
Brazil Ratification Status
Possibility of Ratification by 2018: High Like many other countries, Brazil has yet to ratify the Paris Agreement and submit its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) plan to Congress. Brazil currently is in the midst of its most serious and dramatic political and economic crisis, including the removal and proposed impeachment of the President-Dilma Rousseff. The Brazilian constitution gives Congress the ability to approve treaties, which then go to the President for signature. The Brazilian Congress has a strong environmental block, which favors ratifying the Paris Agreement. However, the acting President Michel Temer has appointed a conservative cabinet, which may not be that enthusiastic about committing to ambitious greenhouse...
Mexico Ratification Status
Possibility of Ratification by 2018: High Mexico has a ratification mechanism very similar to the US: after the President (or in this case, the head Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources) has signed the agreement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has to send it to the Senate for its analysis, evaluation and eventually, its approval. Once the Senate has approved the agreement, it publishes an official act that allows the Executive to ratify it. Mexico’s Senate hasn’t received the Paris Agreement for its endorsement yet; however, due to the increasing international pressure to ratify the Agreement before the...
France Ratification Status
Possibility of Ratification by 2018: Treaty has been Ratified The Parliament of the French Republic consists of two chambers. The National Assembly (directly elected representatives) and the Senate (senators elected indirectly by representatives and local politicians). Pursuant to Art. 53 of the French Constitution, an international agreement requires the approval of parliament where it concerns peace treaties, trade agreements, agreements on state finances, agreements on civil status or agreements on the amendment of legal provisions. Following the National Assembly on May 17 2016, the French Senate adopted, on June 9, 2016, the bill on the ratification of the Paris Climate Agreement, approved on December 12, 2015, by...
Nigeria Ratification Status
Possibility of Ratification by 2016: Medium Nigeria is yet to ratify the Paris Agreement. However, the country has announced plans to commence in September 2016 the process of consulting stakeholders with the intention of signing and ratifying the Agreement as soon as possible thereafter. The Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed, on June 5 2016 made this announcement during a Ministerial Breakfast Meeting on Implementation of Nigeria’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) (Bello, 2016). According to Section 12 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, only by an Act of the National Assembly would any international treaty have locally enforceable status (Adebambo, 2013). The National Assembly...
US Ratification Status
Possibility of Ratification by 2018: Medium The United States has yet to ratify the Paris Agreement but plans to do so before the end of the year. In the United States most international treaties need approval by the US Congress and then the signature of the President before they can be formally ratified. However, the Obama administration argues that the Paris Agreement is not classified as a treaty. Rather it is considered an executive agreement because it does not require changes in any United States laws and it does not commit the US to mandated emission targets. At most, they...
Thailand Ratification Status
Possibility of Ratification by 2018: Medium Thailand is one of the signatories of the Paris Agreement and Thailand signed the Paris Agreement on 22 April 2016. However, Thailand has not yet ratified the Paris Agreement and it does not have any specific timeline for ratification. One of the major challenges that might hinder Thailand’s ratification of the Paris Agreement is the lack of transparency in the country’s legislative system, thus making the process of ratification more complex and complicated. This is because of Thailand’s current governmental structure. Since 2014 Thailand has been under a military dictatorship and is ruled by a...
Spain Ratification Status
Possibility of Ratification by 2018: High Spain has not yet ratified the Paris Agreement, but it fully intends to do so. The Spanish government is currently preparing the necessary documents. It hopes that the documents will be in order at some point during the month of July of this year, at which point the documents will be presented to Parliament for ratification. If the ratification of the Paris Agreement is considered to be an urgent matter, the process could take as little as six months. However, if it is considered a non-urgent matter, the process may take up to a year. To the frustration of not only the...
Turkey Ratification Status
Possibility of Ratification by 2018: Low The Turkish Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning signed the Paris Agreement in New York but it has yet to be ratified. According to Turkey’s Constitution, the Agreement needs to be approved by The Grand National Assembly of Turkey (GNAT). GNAT is composed of different political parties. The new term in the parliament began in June 2015 and there are four parties with 550 seats in total. AK Party has the highest number of seats. The parties have different points of view regarding climate change and emissions. The AK Party, who has the power to decide alone, has not been a...