Over the last year, the United States has worked with our international partners to build on the progress achieved at the climate change conference in Copenhagen. We have pressed for substantive steps that would advance the vision of the Copenhagen Accord. This month we joined the nations of the world in Cancun for a new round of talks aimed at mobilizing common action to meet the shared global challenge of climate change.

Today, I am pleased to announce that we secured the Cancun Agreements, a set of balanced international decisions under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which represent meaningful progress in our global response to climate change.

This outcome advances each of the core elements of the Copenhagen Accord: They anchor the Accord’s mitigation pledges; build on a system of transparency, with substantial detail and content of International Consultations and Analysis which will provide confidence that a country’s pledges are being carried out; launch a new Green Climate Fund; create a framework to reduce deforestation in developing countries; establish a technology mechanism; and setup a framework and committee to will promote international cooperation and action on adaptation.

The Cancun Agreements represent a balanced and significant step forward. In the days and months ahead, the United States will work with our friends and partners to keep the world focused on this urgent challenge and to continue building on this progress.