At Least 171 Nations to Sign Paris Agreement on Climate Change

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that reprsentatives of at least 171 countries gathered in New York to sign the Paris agreement on climate change.

NEW YORK (Sputnik) — Some 170 countries have gathered at the UN headquarters in New York to sign a climate change agreement reached in Paris last December, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in a speech at the opening ceremony on Friday.

"Today, at least 171 countries have gathered here in New York to sign the Paris agreement," Ban said. "This is history in the making."

Friday’s event will set a record for the most countries to sign an international agreement on a single day, the secretary general added.

"This is important because it gives a clear symbol that the Paris agreement will be implemented," French President Francois Hollande said during the ceremony.

Heads of states, foreign ministers, and other official representatives will sign the 31-page document during a signing ceremony later in the day. Hollande is expected to be the first head of state to sign the document.

The deal aims to limit global average temperatures to less than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The agreement also aims to create more financing for lowering greenhouse gas emissions and support more climate-resilient development.

The United States, China, Russia and EU states are among the countries expected to sign the agreement on Friday. The Russian cabinet endorsed the deal on April 20.