175 Countries Sign The Paris Agreement On Climate Change

The UN states that a total of 175 countries have signed the Paris agreement on climate change at the United Nations in New York City, which was held on Earth Day, April 22, 2016.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said this is a moment in history, in which you are signing a new covenant with the future. He further said that they are in a race against time and the era of consumption without consequences is over.

Many countries have signed the agreement on the first day. Countries that haven't sign may have a year to do so.

John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State, holding his young granddaughter, joined other world leaders for a signing ceremony. Canada's Justin Trudeau and French President Francois Hollande joined U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry for combating global warming, according to ABC News.

Meanwhile, China, which is the world's top carbon emitter, said that it will ratify this year before the G-20 summit in China in September. Otherwise, the United States, the world's second-largest emitter, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and leaders of Australia and Mexico said that they also intend to ratify within this year, according to New York Times.

Congo's President Joseph Kabila spoke on behalf of the world's 48 less-developed countries. He said they were committed to moving in one irreversible direction to secure a safer climate.

Leonardo DiCaprio, a UN messenger of peace and climate activist and an academy award-winning actor congratulated everyone, but he said that it will mean absolutely nothing if the world's leaders gathered there to go home and do nothing. He said no more talk, no more excuses, and no more 10-year studies. DiCaprio further said the world is now watching and you will either be lauded by future generations or vilified by them.

The World Resources Institute said that the countries that had not yet indicated they would sign the Paris agreement include some of the world's largest oil producers such as Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Iraq and Kazakhstan.

Under the Paris agreement, the nations set their own targets for relegating emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The objectives are not legally required, but the nations must apprise them every five years.