UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is lauding US President Barack Obama's new plan to tackle climate change.
Meeting with Obama at the White House, Ban Ki-moon says the US is taking the lead in helping change the world.
"I'd like to congratulate you and highly commend your visionary and bold leadership announcement yesterday on a clean power plan. This is hugely important and visionary leadership. The US can and will be able to change the world in addressing a climate phenomenon."
The Clean Power Plan announced by Obama is designed to try to cut carbon emissions from the power sector by around one-third over the next 15-years years.
It will also place significant emphasis on wind and solar power, as well as other renewable energy sources.
Obama says he hopes the United Nations will help press other countries to follow suit.
"I encouraged the Secretary General to continue to work with us to press those countries who have not put forward bold aggressive plans to do so. We need Paris to be a success and the world has to step up in a consorted way on behalf of our children and future generations."
However, Obama's plan is already facing stiff resistance in the US.
Energy firms are already lobbying against the new action plan, prompting a number of US state governors to announce their plans to ignore it.
