US, China ratify Paris Climate Deal

The world's two largest economies, also the world's two biggest polluters, ratified the Paris climate agreement on Saturday, cementing their partnership on climate change and offering a rare display of harmony, setting aside tensions on multiple fronts such as cyber spying and maritime security. The move comes as a boost for the 180-nation deal, which sets ambitious goals for putting a lid on global warming and channeling trillions of dollars to developing countries at the receiving end of global warming. The Paris Accord aims to limit global temperature increases to two degrees centigrade, and will be put to action after it is ratified by at least 55 countries, accounting for 55 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Together, China and the United States generate nearly 40 percent of the global emissions. 

The Chinese Parliament has already ratified the agreement. The Obama administration, on the other side, is using the president's executive authority to enact the deal, bypassing a Congress controlled by the Republican Party, many of whose leaders publicly question if climate change is real. We, therefore, hope that President Obama's effort will not be derailed by whoever wins the next presidential election, something that was done by George W. Bush after the Bill Clinton administration had agreed to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. 

Until now only 24 signatories of the Paris Agreement have ratified the agreement. All countries, especially the developed ones, should put their differences aside and come together on this issue to inspire further action around the world to mitigate the effects of climate change.