The Turkish Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee accepted a bill proposal on the ratification of the Paris climate deal on Wednesday.

The committee, led by Akif Çağatay Kılıç, accepted the draft in a unanimous vote, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.

Turkey was among the first signatories of the Paris Agreement in 2015 but did not initiate the ratification process due to its objections to injustices in the section on obligations, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had earlier said.

The country signed the 2015 deal, along with 175 other countries, in 2016, the year it came into force. However, it stopped short of implementing it, along with other countries like Iraq, Iran, Libya and Yemen, as it was included on the list of developed countries party to the treaty, meaning it would face a huge financial burden in implementing the climate change commitments stipulated in the deal. Ankara sees this designation as unfair given Turkey's status as a developing country.

On Friday, Erdoğan submitted the Paris climate deal to Parliament for ratification. The president had earlier announced that the deal, which will boost Turkey's international standing in the fight against climate change, is expected to be approved by Parliament once it returns from a summer recess, which ended last Friday.