China and US formally join Paris climate pact

G20 Summit

Barack Obama, Xi Jinping, Ban Ki-moonU.S. President Barack Obama, right, and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon shake hands in front of Chinese President Xi Jinping during a joint ratification of the Paris climate change agreement at the West Lake State Guest House in Hangzhou in eastern China’s Zhejiang province, Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016. (How Hwee Young/Pool Photo via AP)

The presidents of China and the United States handed over their countries’ instruments of joining the Paris Agreement separately to Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon in Hangzhou on Saturday.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said that climate change concerns the well-being and future of humanity. The Paris Agreement has charted the course for post-2020 global cooperation against climate change, and it indicates that a cooperative, win-win, equitable and fair climate governance mechanism is being shaped.

CCTV’s Sean Callebs reports on the U.S. and China taking the formal step of approving the Paris Climate Accord Agreement, the next steps and what is at stake.
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The handover of the legal document is a new and solemn commitment of the Chinese government, he said.

Depositing the documents together, China and the United States have displayed their ambition and determination to jointly tackle a global challenge, Xi said.

Taking advantage of implementing the Paris Agreement, the international community should make greater efforts to improve global governance mechanism and innovate relevant actions, so as to facilitate the full operation of the agreement, the president said.

Developed countries should honor their commitments and provide financial and technological support to developing countries and enhance their capability in climate actions, Xi said.

China, a responsible developing country and an active player in global climate governance, will implement its development concepts of innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared growth, fully advance energy conservation, emission reduction and low-carbon development, and embrace the new era of ecological civilization, he said.