Prime Minister Tammam Salam signed on Friday a Paris deal to slow climate change at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
Around 170 countries signed the Paris agreement on climate change today at the UN headquarters, signaling their commitment to put the landmark deal to curb global temperature rise into practice.
In the deal reached in December, governments agreed to limit global temperature rise to “well below” degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times and pursue efforts to keep it to 1.5 degrees.
It will enter into force when at least 55 countries representing at least 55 percent of global emissions ratify or formally join it - which could be earlier than 2020, the date originally planned.
If the deal takes effect sooner, climate change experts hope it could provide impetus for countries to raise their targets for reducing planet-warming emissions, and boost support to help vulnerable countries defend themselves against worsening extreme weather and rising seas.