UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) – On Thursday, 147 countries submitted their climate action plans, but UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon encouraged more states to submit their INDCs before the Paris conference.
"The [UN] Secretary-General welcomes these INDCs as a positive first step. He calls on countries to include provisions in a Paris agreement that will enable them to regularly review and strengthen the ambition level of their national commitments in line with science," the United Nations said in a Thursday statement.
The goal of the UN Climate Change Conference set to take place in Paris in December is to reach for the first time a legally binding global climate agreement.
Some 36 participants at the upcoming Paris conference, including Australia, Russia, the United States and EU member-states, have already submitted their goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The top two carbon dioxide emitters in the world – China and the United States- have stated their intention to decrease their greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 percent in the next 10-15 years.
Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide are responsible for global warming on Earth. Carbon dioxide is produced by human activities such as fossil fuel burning, cement production and deforestation.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced at the end of September that Russia is a world leader in the cumulative reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Since 1990, Russia’s emissions went down by 31 percent, according to Lavrov.
