Marshall Islands set to ratify Paris climate agreement

The Marshall Islands will become the third nation to ratify the Paris climate agreement, after its parliament approved the step on Friday.

Fiji and Palau, neighbours of the Marshall Islands, ratified the deal in February, as Pacific Island nations that are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change look to speed up the process.

195 UN member states reached a deal to limit greenhouse gas emissions and prevent dangerous levels of global warming at the COP21 climate summit in December.

The President of the Marshall Islands Hilda Heine and foreign minister plan be in New York to join an April 22 signing ceremony for the new global deal, organised by the U.N. secretary-general, a statement said on Monday.

The Paris Agreement is due to take effect in 2020 but requires at least 55 countries representing at least 55 per cent of global emissions to officially ratify it first.

President Hilda Heine said: "By becoming one of the first countries to ratify the Paris Agreement, we have shown our determination to continue to lead this fight from the front."

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are suffering the effects of climate change including rising sea levels and extreme weather events, and have campaigned intensely for more ambitious international efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

The Marshall Islands’ government has declared a state of disaster recently amid worsening drought conditions that could leave the capital Majuro without fresh water in about three months, the statement said.

Fiji's government on Monday extended a state of natural disaster for another month in parts of the country hit by Cyclone Winston in February, the worst storm ever recorded in the southern hemisphere.

President Heine added: “The big tasks now are to ensure that the Paris Agreement enters into force as soon as possible, and that governments move quickly to realign their emissions targets with the new 1.5 degree Celsius warming limit the world agreed to pursue in Paris."