White House hails ‘most ambitious climate change’ pact ever

“Over the past seven years”, Obama said, “we’ve transformed the United States into the global leader in fighting climate change”.

President Barack Obama is hailing the climate change agreement reached in Paris as a potential turning point for the world.

“As a result of the climate agreement we can be more confident the Earth will be in better shape”, he said.

The French president says “the 12th of December, 2015, will remain a great date for the planet”.

“In Paris, there have been many revolutions over the centuries”.

The global average temperature today is about 15°C, though geological evidence suggests it has been much higher and lower in the past. Temperatures have already increased by about 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times.

Cameron said it showed what “unity, ambition and perseverance can do”. What we have adopted is not only an agreement, but we have written a chapter of hope in the lives of 7 billion people.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had made an impassioned plea to the diplomats charged with negotiating the deal. “Together with all the stakeholders – NGOs, the business community and every citizen – we will now have the responsibility to translate this agreement into actions”.

“No nation, not even one as powerful as ours can solve this challenge alone. This is a resounding success for multilateralism”.

Nevertheless the deal has backing from 195 countries, nearly 190 of whom have submitted plans for the action they will take against climate change – with Venezuela bringing the total to 188 when it submitted its pledge on Saturday night after the deal was struck. Developing nations which still need to burn coal and oil to power growing populations, are encouraged to enhance their efforts and “move over time” to cuts.

The countries most vulnerable to climate change, such as small island nations, had lobbied for a 1.5C limit, while big polluters such as China, India and Saudi Arabia preferred 2C.

Speaking at the White House hours after the deal was completed, Obama said that “no agreement is ideal, including this one”, and that negotiations that involve almost 200 nations are always challenging. “The climate talks in Paris showed us that this false narrative now belongs in the dustbin of history”.

Welcoming the deal, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said, “Today is a historic day”.

“The Paris Agreement represents an opportunity for American ingenuity, innovation, and entrepreneurship to continue leading the world in the development and deployment of new industrial technologies – ones that are clean and energy efficient”.

“While the world is in turmoil and falling apart in so many different ways, especially with [the Islamic State group], our president is anxious about global warming”, said Trump, who has rejected scientific evidence about climate change in the past.

The World Bank Group is ready to help immediately and will do its utmost to realise this vision of prosperity, he added.

The agreement, adopted after 13 days of intense bargaining in a Paris suburb, puts the world’s nations on a course that could fundamentally change the way energy is produced and consumed, gradually reducing reliance of fossil fuels in favor of cleaner forms of energy.

“This is a pivotal moment”.

The text sets out plans for a new transparency framework to see whether countries are actually carrying out their pledges, in order to hold them account and inform the stocktake.