US President Barack Obama has hailed the historic agreement on climate reached in France, calling it a “huge” success.
Following 13 days of intense bargaining in a Paris suburb, representatives of 195 countries reached the landmark accord that will commit almost nations to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions in a bid to arrest global warming.
"This is huge: Almost every country in the world just signed on to the #ParisAgreement on climate change-thanks to American leadership," Obama tweeted.
The climate agreement comes after four years of UN-led negotiations that often pitted the interests of advanced nations against developing countries.
“History will remember this day,” UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said after the pact was approved to thunderous applause. “The Paris agreement on climate change is a monumental success for the planet and its people.”
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change opened on November 30 in Le Bourget, on the outskirts of Paris, and was scheduled to conclude on December 11.
But international negotiators missed their self-imposed Friday deadline but surprisingly after just few hours reached the momentous accord, which will create a system to encourage nations to increase voluntary domestic efforts to curb emissions.
Under the agreement, rich countries, which are accused of causing this problem, will provide billions of dollars to help poor nations cope with the transition to a greener economy.