Kerry: Climate pact ‘a victory for all of the planet’

Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday thanked international delegates gathered in Paris for adopting a climate change pact that he called a win for the entire world.

“This is a tremendous victory for all of our citizens,” Kerry said on the floor of the United Nations negotiations in Paris, shortly after French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius declared that the agreement had been adopted.

{mosads}“Not for any one country, or any one bloc, but for everybody here who has worked so hard to bring us across the finish line. It’s a victory for all of the planet and for future generations,” Kerry said.

Kerry congratulated the delegates for putting aside their differences and objections for a monumental pact.

“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. “And extraordinarily, we are 196 delegations, 186 plans. That is a remarkable global commitment.”

Kerry had been a leading voice for the Obama administration in its attempts to lead diplomatically in the effort toward the accord.

He’s been in Paris throughout the week, the second half of the formal negotiations for the agreement.

“We have reached an agreement that, when fully implemented, will help us transition to a global clean energy economy, and ultimately, prevent the worst, most devastating consequences of climate change from ever happening,” Kerry said.

Kerry also used the speech as an opportunity to thank French leaders for hosting the summit, especially so soon after the November terrorist attacks in Paris that killed 130, perpetrated by terrorists affiliated with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

“France, in the most difficult circumstances, after loss of life and terror, stood proud, stood up, stood strong, set an example to the world,” he said. “And now the world, here, today, says ‘thank you’ by restoring the global community’s faith that we can accomplish things multilaterally.”

President Obama, who was in Paris Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 for the beginning of the talks, has scheduled a public speech at 5:30 from the White House to discuss the agreement.