July 9, 2009 Obama: Recession toughens climate talks, but leaders must fight 'temptation toward cynicism' Play video

(NECN: L'Aquila, Italy) - "One of my highest priorities as president is to drive a clean energy transformation of our economy, and over the past six months, the United States has taken steps towards this goal," said President Barack Obama. "We're on track to create thousands of new jobs across America."

Obama says the global recession makes it harder to strike an international climate agreement but that leaders must "fight the temptation toward cynicism" and press forward.

Obama spoke at the conclusion Thursday of a forum of major economies in Italy. Including the U.S., the represented countries also include Australia, Indonesia and South Korea. Together, including the U.S., the countries represented at the meeting account for about 80 percent of emissions of heat-trapping gases blamed for global warming.

Obama said the leaders did not solve the problem, but "made some important strides forward."

He said "it is no small task for 17 leaders to bridge their differences on an issue like climate change."

*Material from The Associated Press used in this report*