Ukrainian parliament ratifies Paris climate agreement
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has adopted a law ratifying the Paris climate agreement.
Some 279 MPs voted for relevant law No. 0105 on Thursday, an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent reported.
Ukraine signed the Paris agreement in New York on April 22, 2016.
This agreement strengthens the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which deals with greenhouse gases emissions mitigation and which was signed by Ukraine in 1997.
According to the document, Ukraine will not have any financial obligations under the agreement. As under Kyoto Protocol, financial assistance is likely to be attracted through mechanisms that provide for the implementation of voluntary cooperation in order to increase climate change prevention efficiency.
The agreement also provides for the establishment of a mechanism that will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"The ratification of the Paris agreements shows that our government is serious about climate change and is willing to act decisively to address it... it will promote a positive international image of Ukraine ... it will give a clear signal for cooperation with international organizations and technical assistance projects,", Ukraine's Ecology Minister Ostap Semerak said when presenting the bill on the ratification of the Paris protocol in the Verkhovna Rada.