TEHRAN — The Iranian cabinet of ministers, headed by President Hassan Rouhani, ratified the Paris climate deal on Wednesday and brought the deal closer to enter into force.

The Paris Agreement is an agreement within the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the first-ever universal, legally binding global climate deal dealing with greenhouse gases emissions mitigation, adaptation and finance starting in the year 2020.

The agreement sets out a global action plan to put the world on track to avoid dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to well below 2°C by cutting back on the greenhouse gas emission. The agreement is due to enter into force in 2020.

An agreement on the language of the treaty was negotiated by representatives of 195 countries at the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) of the UNFCCC in Paris and adopted by consensus on December 12, 2015.

It was opened for signature on April 22, 2016 (Earth Day) in a ceremony in New York City. As of June 2016, 178 UNFCCC members have signed the treaty; 19 of which ratified it, which is not enough for the treaty to enter into force yet.

The agreement still needs formal approval from 55 countries representing 55% of global greenhouse gas emissions to come into force. In some cases, that means a vote in parliament.

Iran has pledged to reduce its emission by 12 percent.

MQ/MG