Countries Signing Historic Climate Change Deal.
CURNOW: Welcome to the INTERNATIONAL DESK. I'm Robyn Curnow. Thanks for joining me. Here's a check of the headlines.</s>CURNOW: On Earth Day, a big moment in the drive to reduce global warming. The signing of the climate change pact reached last December in Paris is happening any minute now at the United Nations. Here are live pictures of speeches that are being given. Representatives from more than 160 nations are on board. But the pact will not take effect until certain thresholds are met. Our senior U.N. correspondent Richard Roth joins me now live. Hi, there, Richard. What's happening at the moment?</s>RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: A woman from civil society from Chad in Africa is addressing the general assembly. Leonardo DiCaprio, the Best Actor winner this year, is scheduled to speak, perhaps next. You have over 171 countries ready to sign this climate agreement that was reached in Paris last December. But it's a two-step process. They have to sign and then these countries have to get it ratified through their national governments or parliaments, not so easy in some cases. China and the U.S., though, have made major commitments further than they've ever gone to curb carbon emissions over the next few years. And that has helped spur the momentum, which French President Hollande has mentioned must be followed up on, as he again used the term about sounding the alarm regarding climate change. Secretary of State John Kerry just spoke, again mentioned how each year has been the hottest on record -- Robyn.</s>CURNOW: When is the actual signing going to take place and how long is that going to take?</s>ROTH: They're going to line up in droves to sign here. Many countries. That's the easy part, in effect, and it's a good photo op. They're going to use two different rooms, heads of states, prime ministers. But then each country will have to have it ratified. In the United States, where there is a Republican Congress and a Democratic president who favors this climate agreement, the U.S. doesn't consider it a legally binding international agreement. So President Obama can use an executive order to sign it. Some concern among climate activists that, depending on who's in the White House, it would be better if President Obama took action this year since the Republicans, including Donald Trump, are opposed to this climate change agreement -- Robyn.</s>CURNOW: Richard Roth, always great to have you on the show, coming to us there from the U.N., thanks. Let's get more on this from our Chad Myers. Chad, hi, there. Obviously climate change, global warming, we're feeling it all. It's been one of the hottest years on record. Do you think this will make a difference? And how quickly does this need to be implemented?</s>CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It needs to happen years ago. We are already past where we want to be at this point in time. And I will show you that on a graphic. Ironically here, Earth Day, the Earth being helped a little bit today by 1 billion people trying to do something positive. But let's get to the numbers here. March was the record warmest March ever. The warmest March ever on record since we've been keeping track. Maybe not a billion years ago but you get the idea. Now we move to the last 11 months. It was the warmest February on record, it was the warmest January on record, it was the warmest December. All the way back to May of last year, every consecutive month has broken the record across the globe. So how does that change and how does that really affect what we're seeing here across the globe when it comes to temperatures? Well, the benchmark, the old 2014-2015, 1998 benchmark record years are here. Where are we now? There. Way up, way above 1.2. Now the leaders of all these countries are trying to keep 1.5 degrees Celsius the maximum, hopefully we can keep it under 2. But we're already at 1.2 this year. Can we get there? Can we keep it? Here is how quickly it has changed and there are people that are arguing, saying it has been warmer -- sure and I know it has. But, we have gone from a --</s>MYERS: -- below normal couple of decades in the '50s to the '60s, to the '70s to the '80s, to the '90s to 2000. We're going up so rapidly. It's what's called the hockey stick. It's now even the El Nino years and the La Nina years and the neutral years are in white, the La Nina years are in blue, usually the La Nina years are cool and the El Nino years are warm. We're just warm all the time now, above 1 degree all the time. And we're trying to keep this thing below 2, obviously optimistically, 1.5. But if we're already 1.2 this year, we have a long way to go. And I think we're probably going to start to hear about methane more than maybe even carbon dioxide emissions. Because methane is about 20 times more potent as a carbon keeper, just a gas that keeps the heat at the surface. That greenhouse gas and if we can reduce methane, one part methane is like taking 20 parts of carbon dioxide out. So there's a lot going on here and the countries are finally working this out. I don't think it's too late but it's a long time coming.</s>CURNOW: OK. Very sobering assessment there, Chad Myers. Thank you. Next here on the IDESK, the performer who inspired Prince talks about the loss of a dear friend. Stevie Wonder on Prince's death. That's just ahead.