UN welcomes Turkey's ratification of Paris Agreement

By Betul Yuruk

UNITED NATIONS (AA) - The UN on Wednesday welcomed Turkey's ratification of the Paris Climate Agreement in a move that will contribute to global efforts against climate change.

"It's essential that all countries continue to boost ambition, and the Secretary-General has been clear that G20 countries must lead the way," Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres, told Anadolu Agency.

Dujarric's remarks were made shortly after all political parties in the Turkish parliament voted “Yes” to the agreement.

Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change reached an agreement Dec. 12, 2015, to fight climate change and achieve a sustainable low-carbon future at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris.

The Paris Agreement, defined as "a bridge between today's policies and climate-neutrality before the end of the 21st century," seeks to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by stopping global average temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels over the next century and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius, if possible.

*Servet Gunerigok in Washington contributed to the story