Obama U.S.secure Global Warming deal ‘

Obama said Saturday that with the U.S. at the helm, the world must come together later this year and strike a groundbreaking climate-change accord or the planet as we know it may cease to exist.

In his weekly address, the president raised the stakes for a key United Nations gathering in Paris later this year, where the U.S., China and other world leaders hope to strike the largest international climate change deal in history. The U.S. contribution to the agreement is a pledge to cut greenhouse-gas emissions by at least 26 percent percent by 2030, while China will formally promise to cap its pollution levels by 2030 and then begin gradual reductions.

But Mr. Obama’s climate agenda faces stiff resistance at home. While powerful energy groups and lawmakers of both parties remain deeply opposed to many of his environmental actions, the president has begun to frame the issue as not about domestic politics but about saving the world.

“There’s new hope that, with American leadership, this year the world will finally reach an agreement to prevent the worst impacts of climate change before it’s too late,” he said. “This is an issue that’s bigger and longer-lasting than my presidency. It’s about protecting our God-given natural wonders and the good jobs that rely on them. It’s about shielding our cities and our families from disaster and harm. It’s about keeping our kids healthy and safe. This is the only planet we’ve got. And years from now, I want to be able to look our children and grandchildren in the eye and tell them that we did everything we could to protect it.”

Mr. Obama will travel to the Florida Everglades on Wednesday to continue to push his climate agenda, which centers on improving energy efficiency, raising auto fuel standards and, most importantly, imposing unprecedented restrictions on emissions from power plants.

The power plant rules form the basis for Mr. Obama’s broader plan and are critical if the administration hopes to achieve the ambitious emissions cuts it is aiming for.

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