UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon praised the Obama administration for unveiling an ambitious plan to tackle climate change, a media report said.
After their bilateral meeting at the White House on Tuesday, Ban told Obama that the move showed "visionary leadership", Xinhua reported on Wednesday.
"I would like to congratulate you and highly commend your visionary and forward leadership on a clean power plan," Ban said.
The key part of the new plan requires power plants in the US to cut their carbon dioxide emissions to 32 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.
The rule is viewed by many as the toughest action the US has taken to address the climate change issue.
Obama hoped the UN chief would press other countries that have not yet put forward bold and aggressive climate change plans to do so, saying: "The world has to step up in a concerted way on behalf of our children and future generations."