A record number of countries are expected to sign the historic climate agreement adopted last December in Paris at a signing ceremony hosted by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 22 April.

More than 130 countries have confirmed that they will sign the Paris Agreement on 22 April, the first day that the agreement will be open for signature.  This would surpass the previous record of 119 signatures for an opening day signing for an international agreement, set by the Law of the Sea in Montego Bay in 1994. In addition, more countries have informally indicated that they will sign the agreement, with the numbers increasing rapidly each week.

Over 60 Heads of State and Government will attend the ceremony, including French President François Hollande, demonstrating the continued high level of engagement by world leaders to accept and implement the Paris Agreement. 

The signing ceremony will mark the first step toward ensuring that the Paris Agreement enters into force as early as possible.  The agreement will enter into force 30 days after at least 55 countries, accounting for 55 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, deposit their instruments of ratification or acceptance with the Secretary-General.

A number of countries have also indicated that they will deposit their instruments of ratification immediately after signing the agreement on 22 April.

The 22 April signing ceremony will also bring together leaders from civil society and the private sector to discuss efforts to boost financing for climate action and sustainable development, and to increase actions that would achieve the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting average global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius.

“Paris was historic,” the Secretary-General said.  “But it’s only the beginning.  We must urgently accelerate our efforts to tackle climate change.  I encourage all countries to sign the Paris Agreement on 22 April so we can turn aspirations into action. ”

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Information on the 22 April Signing Ceremony can be found at www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/climatechange

Media accreditation for the Signing Ceremony event ends 8 April.  For information, see http://www.un.org/en/media/accreditation/confirm.shtml

For further information, please contact Dan Shepard, tel 1 212 963-9495; email: shepard@un.org

In New York, on April 22, governments will sign the new Paris Climate Change Agreement en route to it coming into force as millions of people around the globe mark annual Earth Day, or International Mother Earth Day.

Earth Day’s theme this year is focused on trees with the aim of mobilizing nearly eight billion plantings, or one for every man, woman and child alive by 2020—together we can maybe do it sooner! The link between the Paris Agreement and trees is clear—forests will be key allies for combating climate change and meeting the long term goal of restoring the ecological balance of planet Earth by the second half of the century.

Trees and forests are also crucial for assisting efforts to meet the new Sustainable Development Goals given their role is absorbing carbon, cleaning and cooling the air; acting as natural water pumps to sustain river flows; stabilizing soils; recycling nutrients for agriculture and supporting habitats for wildlife to name just a few of their gifts to humanity.

So let’s get planting now, in the run up to April 22 and beyond.

You can also simply hug your favorite tree, like UNFCCC spokesperson Nick Nuttall. Photo Credit: UNFCCC.

Our asks are simple, we want to create a buzz around the signing of the Paris Agreement; let governments know that everyone is right behind them while making a very practical difference on the ground in terms of a healthier, less risky world.

We are asking everyone to do one or all of three things:

1) Plant a tree for the Paris Agreement signing and maybe attach a little plaque
2) Hug a tree for the Paris Agreement signing
3) Sketch or photograph your favorite tree for the Paris Agreement signing

Then post images and texts about your good work on Facebook, Twitter or any other social media network using the hashtags #ParisAgreement and #Trees4Earth, along with #EarthDay2016 if there is space.

Go the Earth Day web site and register your event and learn about more cool things you can do.

And tell governments, local authority leaders, business leaders, friends and family why you have done it and get them on board—you could even use the hashtags #ParisAgreement #Means4Me when writing to them.

Join Earth Day Network’s 'Trees for the Earth’.

Over the past two years, the World Bank’s flagship climate change report series Turn Down the Heat and its complementary free Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) have helped bring important climate related issues to policy makers and concerned citizens, reaching nearly 39,000 people in more than 180 countries worldwide.

[video:https://youtu.be/T8GL_BHa5iI]

Now, with the adoption of the Paris Agreement at COP 21, we are ready to launch a new and exciting MOOC: “From Climate Science to Action – Turn Down the Heat Series”. The MOOC is delivered in association with the World Bank’s Open Learning Campus – the one stop shop for development learning. This interactive course focuses on region-specific impacts and opportunities for climate action in the context of the Paris Agreement. With an overview of the submitted National Determined Contributions (NDCs), it lays out implementation challenges and opportunities of the Paris Agreement.