He also applauded the role played by India in "forging" the Paris climate accord and said the treaty was "not an easy thing to do politically but the right thing to do".
"It is an agreement, even though we have a little bit of a pause in American leadership... that is giving our children a fighting chance," he said.
The good news, he added, is that US' companies and universities are continuing to make sure that America lives up to the obligation that it made in Paris accord.