WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama on Saturday praised the sweeping global climate change accord reached by representatives of nearly 200 countries as the "best chance we have to save the one planet that we've got."
"We came together around the strong agreement the world needed. We met the moment," he said in remarks delivered from the White House's Cabinet room.
The accord reached in Paris is the most significant international plan ever put in place to fight climate change. The agreement sets the goal of limiting the world's rise in average temperature to "well below 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius." It also calls for more emissions cuts to be put on the table prior to the year 2020.
"Together we've shown what's possible when the world stands as one," he said, also hailing the so-called Paris agreement as a "tribute to American leadership."
The Paris agreement is a significant win for Obama, who has made the issue of climate change key to his presidency.
"What matters is that today, we can be more confident that this planet is going to be in better shape for the next generation." —@POTUS— The White House (@WhiteHouse) December 12, 2015
While some elements of the agreements are legally binding, others are intentionally voluntary. That's to ensure that the agreement would not be legally interpreted as a treaty and required to go before the Republican-controlled Senate for ratification. Many Republicans in the Senate dispute climate change, making it nearly impossible for the accord to win the two-thirds support required for treaties.
While Obama praised the landmark climate agreement, he cautioned that "no agreement is perfect, including this one."
"We can not be complacent because of today's agreement. The problem's not solved because of this accord," he said, adding that the Paris accord "establishes the enduring framework the world needs to solve the climate crisis."