France has become the first G7 nation to ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change. Germany, China, India and the US have committed to the agreement but have yet to ink the deal.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/E. Laurent
Advertisement
On Wednesday, French President Francois Hollande ratified the Paris Agreement, an international climate pact signed in December of last year that aims to reduce the impact of global warming.
Among the Group of Seven advanced economies, which also include Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, and the United States, France is the first to sign the deal. The Paris Agreement becomes binding once 55 nations have signed it, if they represent 55 percent of global carbon emissions.
Hungary is the only other European country to have already ratified the accord, which aims to keep global temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to pre-industrial times.
The success of the Paris Agreement is dependent on major polluting nations sticking to its tenets. The Untied States, China and India have committed in principle to the agreement but have not yet ratified it.
Germany has also committed to ratifying the Paris Agreement. Although the country is seen as an international pioneer when it comes to implementing renewable energy over carbon-based sources, it has been criticized by environmental group for its use of brown coal.
mz/kl (AFP)
Visit these World Heritage sites before they disappear due to climate change
The Statue of Liberty, the extensive wildlife of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and the giant stone heads of Easter Island in Chile - what do they have in common? They are all at risk of disappearing due to climate change.
Image: Getty Images/J. Raedle
Rapa Nui National Park, Easter Island, Chile
The moai statues of Easter Island attract than 60,000 visitors every year. But coastal erosion and rising sea levels mean the iconic structures could be in danger of falling into the sea.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Maxppp/G. Boissy
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda
A little fewer than half of the world's remaining 880 mountain gorillas live here in Uganda, attracting thousands of tourists every year. Climate change is putting them - and their home - in peril. Rising temperatures mean humans are encroaching further into their habitats. Closer contact with their human cousins is leading to more disease among the great apes.
Image: Rainer Dückerhoff
Lake Malawi National Park, Malawi
While rising sea levels are putting many coastal sites at risk, falling water levels are endangering lake ecosystems - for example in Malawi. Higher temperatures are making the water evaporate, while longer dry periods also mean rainfall is not able to replenish Lake Malawi. In addition to harming the ecosystem and area agriculture, this is also a problem for tourists, who come to dive.
Image: DW/Johannes Beck
Wadi Rum Protected Area, Jordan
Narrow gorges, high cliffs and spectacular vistas - these are some highlights of the 30,000-hectare site. Fantastic terrain and more than 45,000 rock carvings dating back 12,000 years make it a popular tourist destination. But the changing climate is leading to warmer and drier conditions, increasing water stress and threatening the desert wildlife that makes its home there.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Rock Islands Southern Lagoon, Palau
More than 400 limestone islands make up this Pacific paradise. Beautiful lagoons, coral reefs and ancient villages draw in more than 100,000 tourists every year. But rising temperatures and increasingly acidic waters are pushing corals to their limits, bleaching them and preventing them from building strong carbonate skeletons.
Image: Matt Rand/ The Pew Charitable Trusts
Statue of Liberty, USA
It's long-been a symbol of freedom for the world - and yet the huge statue is under threat. Rising sea levels and intensifying storms are putting the monument at considerable risk. Hurricane Sandy battered the US coast in 2012, causing extensive damage to Liberty Island infrastructure. Many believe it's only a matter of time until the monument itself is damaged.
Image: picture-alliance/United Archives/WHA
Ilulissat Icefjord, Greenland, Denmark
Climbing temperatures are driving tourists to the glacier as people rush to witness the "ground zero" of climate change. Global warming is having a visible - and audible - impact, cracking and melting the icebergs here. But also Arctic archeological sites are disappearing as the permafrost thaws and coasts erode away.
