18 October 2016: The Central African Republic, Costa Rica, Greece, Paraguay and Sweden have ratified the Paris Agreement on climate change, bringing the total number of Parties to the Agreement to 81. The Central African Republic ratified on 11 October; Costa Rica and Sweden Ratified on 13 October; and Greece and Paraguay ratified on 14 October.

The Paris Agreement, which has 191 signatories to date, was adopted in December 2015 and will enter into force on 4 November, the 30th day after the date on which at least 55 Parties to the UNFCCC, representing at least 55% of global emissions, deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession. These two thresholds were crossed on 5 October 2016. Entry into force triggers the launch of the Paris Agreement’s governing body, the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA). CMA 1 will take place at the upcoming Marrakech Climate Change Conference in Morocco, from 7-18 November 2016.

The UNFCCC Secretariat has released a document with questions and answers on legal procedures regarding the convening of CMA 1. It explains that CMA 1 will be held in conjunction with the 22nd session of the the Conference of the Parties (COP 22) and the 12th meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as meeting of the Parties of the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 12) during the Marrakech Climate Conference with the exact dates to be determined by the Executive Secretary in consultation with the Bureau and the Presidency.

The UNFCCC secretariat further notes that: the provisional agenda for all three meetings is under development; no separate nomination of delegates is required for CMA 1; countries have to deposit their instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession at least 30 days prior to the CMA 1 in order to participate; Parties must submit separate credentials of representatives for CMA 1; Heads of State have been invited to attend a high-level segment on 15 November 2016; and that the President of the COP will serve as President of CMA 1.

The Secretariat has also provided an updated version of the progress tracker, which outlines the work programme resulting from the relevant requests contained in decision 1/CP.21 adopted at the Paris Climate Change Conference in December 2015. The document provides updated information on mandates, responsible, bodies, timelines, status of implementation and next steps on elements arising from that decision. [Status of Ratification Website][List of Ratification, Acceptances, Approvals or Accessions][Questions and Answers on CMA 1][Progress Tracker]