Eiffel Tower in Paris lit in green

The Paris agreement on climate change commences

The Paris agreement on climate change came into force , marking the first time that governments have agreed to legally binding limits to global temperature rises by cutting carbon emissions and check global warming.

The passage of the accord was hailed by nations and observers around the world. It took nearly twenty years of active protest and lobbying to finally reach this stage.

Under the Paris agreement, many governments have ratified the accord including India, US, China and the EU. These countries now carry an obligation to control global warming to no more than 2C above pre-industrial levels. 1.5 degrees is what scientists regard as the limit of safety beyond which climate change is likely to become catastrophic and irreversible.

To mark the ecological victory , the Eiffel tower along with the Arc de Triumph were both lit in green on Friday. It is now another matter to enforce this in developing countries like India where fossil fuels are the main source of carbon emissions.