--- description: The United States declares victory title: Paris Climate Deal: President Obama Says 'We Met Our Moment' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2f400ae8b7c254fd/698875255f570fbdd4b1ecdb/paris-climate-agreements.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [White House](/tag/white-house/) ## White House Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Obama Trumpets Paris Climate Deal: 'We Met The Moment' ## Video: The Promising Language Of The Paris Climate Agreement [Watch (HLS stream): The Promising Language Of The Paris Climate Agreement](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/nLvQPVAz.m3u8) (0:53)  _Published 2015-12-12. Negotiators have approved an ambitious plan to reduce the effects of anthropogenic climate change._ by [Zeke Miller](/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 12, 2015 11:01 PM CUT  French Special Representative for the 2015 Paris Climate Conference Laurence Tubiana, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Christiana Figueres and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius after the adoption of the COP21 final agreement at the plenary session room at the World Climate Change Conference 2015 (COP21) in Le Bourget, north of Paris, France, 12 December 2015. French Special Representative for the 2015 Paris Climate Conference Laurence Tubiana, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Christiana Figueres and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius after the adoption of the COP21 final agreement at the plenary session room at the World Climate Change Conference 2015 (COP21) in Le Bourget, north of Paris, France, 12 December 2015.CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON—EPA by [Zeke Miller](/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 12, 2015 11:01 PM CUT President Barack Obama hailed the Paris climate change agreement Saturday, calling it “the best chance we’ve had to save the one planet that we’ve got.” Speaking from the White House on an unseasonably warm December day hours after negotiators approved the agreement, Obama called it a testament to American leadership that will help slow climate change. “We came together around a strong agreement the world needed—We met the moment.” Obama said. “Full implementation of this agreement will help delay or avoid some of the worst consequences of climate change.” Obama, who had traveled to Paris earlier this month to mark the beginning of the talks, dismissed critics of efforts to promote clean energy, arguing their warnings of job losses haven’t panned out. Calling the agreement between more than 190 nations imperfect, Obama said more will be needed to curb the release of carbon into the atmosphere. But he cast the success as a helpful precedent for future efforts. “The Paris agreement establishes the enduring framework the world needs to solve the climate crisis,” he said. ### PHOTOS: 20 Breathtaking Images of Earth From Space  Aleppo, Syria, May 26, 2013 – The Citadel of Aleppo – medieval fortified palace DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Belfast, Northern Ireland, Nov. 3, 2013 – “Wish,” a large-scale art work DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Utah, USA, April 22, 2013 – Colorado River DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Cuanza River, Angola, April 28, 2013 – Cambambe Dam DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Doha, Qatar, March 4, 2013 – Artificial island spanning nearly four million sq meters. DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Dunalley, Australia, Jan. 6, 2013 – fires, false color image (red = healthy vegetation) DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Australia, April 22, 2013 – Great Barrier Reef DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Gwadar coast, Pakistan Sept. 29, 2013 – new island created by earthquake in Pakistan DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Croatia, Feb. 16, 2013 – Galešnjak (Island of Love) DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Hong Kong, China May 9, 2013 – giant rubber duck DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Madang Province, Papua New Guinea, March 22, 2013 – Manam Volcano DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Namib Desert, Namibia, May 13, 2013 – Sossusvlie area DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Naples, Italy, Feb. 19 2013 – Mount Vesuvius DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Niger, Feb. 13, 2013 – Arlit Uranium Mine DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Schooner Cays, Bahamas, May 26, 2013 DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Sochi, Russia, March 17, 2013 – Site of 2014 winter Olympics DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Near the city of Sur, Oman, Feb. 13, 2013 – massive “green tide” DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Valencia, Spain, July 19, 2013 – Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia and Gulliver Park with an enormous fiberglass model of Lemuel Gulliver trapped DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Versailles, France, Aug. 20, 2013 – Palace of Versailles DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Xi'an, China, Sept. 24, 2013 – Shiyuan Park DigitalGlobe—Getty Images The agreement was praised by Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton earlier Saturday. “The Paris agreement is testament to America’s ability to lead the world in building a clean energy future where no one is left out or left behind,” she said in a statement. “And it was made possible in part by every person, business owner, and community in the United States and around the world that stepped up to prove we don’t have to choose between growing our economy and protecting our kids’ health and future—we can do both.” The deal commits most of the world’s countries to reducing carbon emissions through a combination of legally binding and voluntary efforts. They will report their progress using an international standard, a framework that environmentalists hope will lead to more ambitious carbon reductions in the future. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4146900/paris-climate-deal-obama-president/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4146900/paris-climate-deal-obama-president/"},"headline":"Obama Trumpets Paris Climate Deal: 'We Met The Moment'","datePublished":"2015-12-12T23:01:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:00:45.985Z","description":"The United States declares victory","url":"https://time.com/4146900/paris-climate-deal-obama-president/","keywords":["White House","Barack Obama","Environment","climate change","paris"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2f400ae8b7c254fd/698875255f570fbdd4b1ecdb/paris-climate-agreements.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zeke Miller","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2f400ae8b7c254fd/698875255f570fbdd4b1ecdb/paris-climate-agreements.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"COP21 Climate Change Conference","caption":"COP21 Climate Change Conference","creditText":"CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON—EPA","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4146900/paris-climate-deal-obama-president/","name":"Obama Trumpets Paris Climate Deal: 'We Met The Moment'"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Promising Language Of The Paris Climate Agreement","description":"Negotiators have approved an ambitious plan to reduce the effects of anthropogenic climate change.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/nLvQPVAz/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-12-12T15:12:18.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/nLvQPVAz.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4146900/paris-climate-deal-obama-president/","duration":"PT53S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4146900/paris-climate-deal-obama-president/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```