Russia's prime minister on Monday gave formal support to the Paris climate agreement, just hours ahead of a key summit trying to tackle ever increasing gas emissions. The document signed by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev says that Russia is formally accepting the 2015 Paris agreement and will now "allocate financial resources... to developing countries for prevention of and adaptation to climate change."

The Paris Agreement, which Russia signed in 2016, gives countries a choice in how to join the accords by ratification, acceptance, approval or accession to the agreement, depending on their national legislation. The decision to "accept" the accord signifies "Russia's consent to the obligations under the Paris Agreement", the government said in a statement. Presenting his decree at a government meeting, Medvedev said that it is important for Russia to participate in the process of reducing emissions.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019