World Bank official hails China for ratifying Paris climate deal

NAIROBI - China's ratification of Paris climate deal on Sept 3 marked a historic milestone in global efforts to lower green house gas emissions and hasten green and inclusive growth, a World Bank official said on Wednesday.

Ademola Braimoh, coordinator for climate smart agriculture at the World Bank Africa region hailed Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Barack Obama for ratifying a deal that outlines ambitious targets to limit emission of climate altering gases.

"The ratification of Paris Climate Agreement by China and the United States is a welcome development because it requires collective effort especially from big players in the world stage to solve the challenge of climate change," Braimoh remarked.

He spoke to Xinhua on the sidelines of the ongoing Africa green revolution forum taking place in Nairobi.

China announced ratification of Paris climate deal ahead of the G20 Summit that took place in East China's city of Hangzhou on Sept 4-5.

President Xi and his US counterpart Obama during their meeting on Sept 4 issued a joint statement reaffirming their countries' unwavering commitment to implementation of Paris climate deal.

Braimoh noted that political commitment from China and the United States has inspired nations to take robust measures to enhance climate resilient economic development.

"We expect countries to back their commitment with actions, allocate more resources towards climate change mitigation and adaptation," Braimoh said.

He added that African states can borrow lessons from China that include adoption of clean technologies to strengthen their resilience to climate change.

China has led global efforts to revitalize the war against climate change through increased funding for adaptation and mitigation, technology transfer and political commitment.

President Xi in his address to the just concluded G20 Summit stressed that China's pursuit of green and inclusive development had not faltered.