China deposits its instrument of ratification of the Paris Agreement
On 3 September 2016 China deposited its instrument of ratification of the Paris Agreement with the UN Secretary-General, jointly with the United States at a G20-eve ceremony in Hangzhou. In the causal graph this event strengthens Decarbonization and climate-mitigation policy, a driver that weakens Global CO2 emissions per capita — an improving welfare path.
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On 3 September 2016 China deposited its instrument of ratification of the Paris Agreement with the UN Secretary-General, jointly with the United States at a G20-eve ceremony in Hangzhou.
Context
Xi and Barack Obama appeared together. The NPC Standing Committee had approved. The UNFCCC depositary records the act. He did not write the Agreement text. Later NDC updates are neighbouring later instruments.
The 12 December 2015 Paris adoption is a neighbouring earlier multilateral instrument. The 2020 UNGA 2060 pledge is a neighbouring later speech.
The General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, concurrently President of the People’s Republic of China and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, can set the Politburo agenda, nominate the State Council leadership, and command the armed forces. He does not write UN General Assembly resolutions, OHCHR assessments, WHO emergency-use listings, or Hong Kong ordinances by himself.
Why it matters
The path is decarbonisation policy: a completed ratification by the largest emitter is a dated legal participation, not a delivered 1.5°C path.
Who was responsible
Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.
Xi Jinping
PersonDirect responsibility
responsibility level 0.65 · verified
He deposited as head of state with Obama. The NPC Standing Committee had approved. The depositary recorded. He did not write the treaty text.
What changed
Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.
- FactChina deposits its instrument of ratification of the Paris Agreement
- strengthensDriverDecarbonization and climate-mitigation policy
- weakensIndicators (3)Global CO2 emissions per capita
impact weight 0.6 · Effect from 3 September 2016 · verified
A completed Paris ratification by the largest emitter is a dated legal participation in the NDC regime.
Weakens · Relationship strength 0.36 (weight 0.6 × strength 0.6)
Observed
4.73 tonnes CO2 per person per year · 2.43 above the normal line (2024)
Worse than normalTwo readings: 4.71 tonnes CO2 per person per year (2023) and 4.73 tonnes CO2 per person per year (2024).
20232024 Above normal = worse
Weakens · Relationship strength 0.3 (weight 0.6 × strength 0.5)
Observed
32.9 micrograms per cubic metre (annual mean, population-weighted) · 27.9 above the normal line (2023)
Worse than normal3 readings, 2021–2023: fell from 33.2 micrograms per cubic metre (annual mean, population-weighted) to 32.9 micrograms per cubic metre (annual mean, population-weighted).
Above normal = worse
- Better
Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.24 (weight 0.6 × strength 0.4)
Observed
30% of electricity generation · 11 above the normal line (2023)
Better than normal6 readings, 2000–2023: rose from 18.9% of electricity generation to 30% of electricity generation.
Above normal = better
Evidence
The sources behind this fact and its verification state.
- 1.Reuters — China, U.S. formally ratify Paris climate agreementReuters · High credibility · verified
- 2.UN Treaty Collection — Paris AgreementUnited Nations · High credibility · verified
What the sources establish
United Nations carries the official instrument or communique. Reuters records the same dated act independently.
Established: a 3 September 2016 deposit of China’s Paris ratification, recorded by the UN Treaty Collection and by independent wires.
Not established: that China’s later coal build was thereby forbidden, or a unique same-day gigatonne coefficient.
The NPC Standing Committee had approved. The depositary recorded. He did not write the treaty text.. A later repeal, court stay, or successor order would be a different Fact with a different date.
Co-authors and later implementers named in Context remain on the file. The contribution described on this Person row is limited to He deposited as head of state with Obama. The NPC Standing Committee had approved. The depositary recorded. He did not write the treaty text. That limit is the alternative to treating office-holding as authorship of every later series. The National People’s Congress, the State Council, provincial governments, the People’s Liberation Army, Hong Kong’s executive, and foreign counterparties share specific files. Allegation is not a completed judgment. An OHCHR assessment is not a criminal conviction. A white paper is not a census. A UN pledge is not a delivered emissions path.
Causal path
How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.
- ActorXi Jinping
- contributed toFactChina deposits its instrument of ratification of the Paris Agreement
- strengthensDriverDecarbonization and climate-mitigation policy
- weakensIndicatorGlobal CO2 emissions per capita
Cite this page
Factrail. (2026). China deposits its instrument of ratification of the Paris Agreement. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/cn-paris-ratification-2016
https://factrail.ai/facts/cn-paris-ratification-2016
Accessed 15 October 2026.
By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed
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