The landmark Paris climate deal, which was concluded last December after being ratified by 72 countries, is all set to enter into force from November, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) said on Wednesday.
"On October 5, 2016, the threshold for entry into force of the Paris Agreement has been achieved," The UN's climate body announced on its website.
According to Reuters, United States President Barack Obama called Wednesday "a historic day in the fight to protect our planet for future generation."
"If we follow through on the commitments that this Paris agreement embodies, history may well judge it as a turning point for our planet," he added.
The agreement, which required ratification from 55 countries responsible for 55 per cent of greenhouses gases emissions, vows to curb global warming.
The treaty was pushed over the threshold with the European Union signing it as an individual party. Moreover, seven other EU's member states extended their support on Wednesday.
"The EU and European countries that have already ratified the agreement at a national level have now also submitted ratification documents to the UN" Segolene Royal, the French environment minister, told AFP.
"This ratification happened at record speed," he added.
The EU, which is responsible for 10 per cent of global emission, joined the ranks of China and the United States as the major contributors of greenhouses gases.
China and the United States together contribute to almost 40 per cent of the global emission.
Prior to the Paris Agreement, Kyoto protocol, the international treaty which extends the 1992 UNFCCC, took eight years to enter into force. Moreover, neither Neither the US or China ratified the agreement.
President of the World Resources Institute Andrew Steer told AFP: "This is a welcome development after years of frustratingly slow progress."
"With the agreement in full force, countries can shift their focus from commitment to action," he added.
