Paris deal on climate change met with calls to action from Canadians

“The diplomats have done their job: the Paris Agreement points the world in the right direction, and with sophistication and clarity”, said Jeffrey Sachs, director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University in NY.

While noting that the agreement wasn’t flawless, the president added that it establishes the “enduring framework the world needs to solve the climate crisis”. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who has been leading the opposition against Obama’s climate change efforts, said the president is waging “war on coal” and a “attack on the middle class”. Developed countries are also required to mobilise financial resources and help the developing world in dealing with the impacts of climate change. He said the agreement will contain periodic reviews and assessments to ensure that countries meet their commitments.

He said it could be a “turning point” for the world to take on the challenge of a low-carbon future.

The deal commits most of the world’s countries to reducing carbon emissions through a combination of legally binding and voluntary efforts.

Speaking at the White House hours after the deal was completed, Obama said that “no agreement is flawless, including this one”, and that negotiations that involve almost 200 nations are always challenging.

China also welcomes the accord, but says there is still work to do.

What will nations be required to do under the terms of the Paris climate accord and how will it be funded?

How countries will get there: The countries that sign the agreement pledge to “reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible”, but the text doesn’t specify a date.

Australia’s foreign minister, Julie Bishop, said the agreement involving all nations and trading competitors could give Australia “comfort” to take tougher action to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

Most environmental activists reacted positively to the agreement, which replaces the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, but warned it was only the first step of many. “The world has come together around an agreement that will empower us to chart a new path for our planet, a smart and responsible path, a sustainable path”, he said.

The Paris deal was described by senior administration officials Saturday as a “hybrid agreement” where parts of the agreement, such as the transparency of countries sharing their carbon emissions, would be legally binding.

“It’s already happening”, Kerry said in Paris.

He said: “An ambition to keep global temperature rises below 1.5C is all very well, but we still don’t have an adequate global plan to make this a reality”. Scientists estimate that these commitments would put the planet on course for 2.7 degrees Celsius of warming-and that’s only if countries actually follow through on them.