BERLIN, December 13 /TASS/. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has welcomed the Paris Agreement reached at the climate change summit after two weeks of intense negotiations. "The deal agreed today will oblige the entire global community to act against global climate change," Merkel said in Berlin late on Saturday.

"Despite the fact that a great deal of work is still lying ahead, it is a sign of hope that we will be able to preserve conditions for living for billions of people in future," the chancellor stressed. She thanked French President Francois Hollande for preparing the climate change conference. Paris, according to Merkel, will always be associated with this historical event.

Barbara Hendricks, Germany’s minister for the environment, nature conservation, building and nuclear safety, described the Paris deal as a "turning point in history."

On Saturday, 195 countries members of the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference adopted an agreement designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions and keep global temperature increase "well below" 2C and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5C in relation to the average temperature of the pre-industrial era. Scientists believe that more considerable temperature rises may lead to irreversible consequences for the planet’s environment. The Paris Agreement is to replace the Kyoto Protocol after 2020.