SCI-TECH

Amid celebration, EU claims credit for Paris climate agreement

The Associated Press Published Friday, October 7, 2016 2:16PM EDT

In this Dec. 12, 2015, file photo, French President Francois Hollande, right, French Foreign Minister and president of the COP21 Laurent Fabius, second right, United Nations climate chief Christiana Figueres, left, and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon hold their hands up in celebration after the final conference at the COP21, the United Nations conference on climate change, in Le Bourget, north of Paris.(Francois Mori/AP)

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The EU is celebrating the Paris Agreement's imminent entry into force with a ceremony at United Nations headquarters claiming credit for pushing the treaty that seeks to curtail the emissions of greenhouse gases past its final hurdle.

Poland, an EU member state, deposited the documents necessary for joining the treaty during the ceremony Friday, bringing the number of EU countries that are party to the deal to eight.

The Paris Agreement is set to take effect on Nov. 4, 30 days after the number of countries ratifying the deal accounted for more than 55 per cent of global emissions on Wednesday.

"Thanks to this, the second condition necessary for this international agreement to enter into force was met and the EU has triggered the action," said Slovak Environment Minister Lazlo Solymos.